 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Airplane!
- Review Date: October 12, 2005
- PG
- Genre: Comedy
- 1980
Common Sense Media says
Rapid-fire parody aimed squarely at teen boys.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie contains some mild cursing, drug use, a drawn-out barroom brawl between two Girl Scouts, and plenty of sexual innuendo. The drug and sexual references may fly over the heads of younger viewers. However, the overall tone of the film makes it clear that nothing is to be taken seriously.
What's the story?
When the passengers and crew aboard Trans American Airlines flight 209 fall ill from food poisoning, passenger and veteran aviator Ted Striker (Robert Hayes) must put his wartime trauma behind him and take the throttle. As fate would have it, his old flame and flight attendant, Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty) is on board. Elaine's rekindled love for Stryker revitalizes his confidence, and with the help of a couple of hilariously gruff air traffic controllers, he flies the plane to safety.
Is it any good?
Without a doubt, AIRPLANE! reigns as king of all 80s parody films. Leslie Nielsen (in a precursor to his turn as Lt. Frank Drebin in the The Naked Gun series), Robert Stack, and Lloyd Bridges appear to enjoy portraying characters that lampoon their previous dramatic roles. And while the dialogue and references to films such as From Here to Eternity and Saturday Night Fever will appeal mainly to adults, site gags like the jive-talking granny (played by Barbara Billingsley of Leave it to Beaver) and lines such as, "Surely you can't be serious?" "I am serious... and don't call me Shirley," will have kids rolling on the floor. Along the way, the film mixes embarrassingly obvious puns and sight gags, as well as surprisingly quick-witted knocks at everyday airport/airplane situations. Parents should note that most of the jokes featured in this film are at the expense of various religious and ethnic groups in this film. They are not especially mean-spirited, yet some might interpret the film's off-color humor as offensive.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the use of humor in the movie. This movie is an equal opportunity offender that features several jokes at the expense of women, people of color, war veterans, and gays. Parents might consider talking with their kids about the intentions of the filmmakers. How does context change the way we interpret comedy?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
N*U*D*I*T*Y
I loved it, but there was WAY too much adult material (drugs & sex) for the young teen group that watched it. I am glad to see the ratings here have changed. Previously, there was no mention of the 36DD that filled the screen for 3 awkward seconds!
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March 24, 2010
AGE
I know it's light and funny, but it has deal-killers in it
Clever, funny movie. My son was laughing at references he didn't even understand (e.g., the beach seen spoofing "From...Eternity"). However, the following scenes made this inappropriate for my teen: 1) the topless woman scene, 2) the oral sex scene with the auto-pilot, 3) the airport announcers at the beginning of the movie talking about getting an abortion, 4) a "...sit on your face..." comment. I know all of this was either comically over-the-top or either delivered with such a straight face that you weren't sure what was said, but my son caught all of it.
I call this a "it's only ONE can of beer" movie as in "hey, the movie generally funny and the inappropriate stuff is mostly harmless, just like only ONE can of beer would be harmless." Maybe one can of beer is harmless for a 17 year old, but not for a 13 year old like this is rated. Hope that makes some type of sense to someone other than me.
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AGE
Very racy, I wouldn't recommend letting your child watch this, at any age.
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AGE
Epic parody. Sure, that topless woman runs across the camera, but it's not like kids are going to be scarred for life. And a tiny bit of product placement (that Bud truck) but other than that, in my view kids 11 and up will laugh out loud watching it.
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AGE
Very funny movie, definitely recommend.
Brief nudity might bug some viewers (which I find kind of hilarious) and there is one scene of pretty clear inuendo. Other than that, it's just a freaking hilarious movie.
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Kid, 12 years old
July 27, 2010
AGE
i hate that site!(name commonsense)
should be 13 or 17+ but definetly not 11
i think this movie is off for ages 13 and under, iffy for ages 13-17 and on for ages 17 and over (off for grades 7 and under (younger middle schoolers), iffy for grades 8-11 (mature middle schoolers and older high schoolers and on for grades 12+) (Mature High schoolers and older).
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AGE
i hate that site!(name commonsense)
should be 13 or 17+ but definetly not 11
i think this movie is off for ages 13 and under, iffy for ages 13-17 and on for ages 17 and over (off for grades 7 and under (younger middle schoolers), iffy for grades 8-11 (mature middle schoolers and older high schoolers and on for grades 12+) (Mature High schoolers and older).
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Kid, 11 years old
July 27, 2010
AGE
i hate that site!(name commonsense)
should be 13 or 17+ but definetly not 11
i think this movie is off for ages 13 and under, iffy for ages 13-17 and on for ages 17 and over (off for grades 7 and under (younger middle schoolers), iffy for grades 8-11 (mature middle schoolers and older high schoolers and on for grades 12+) (Mature High schoolers and older).
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AGE
Wait till they are older to see this!
full frontal nudity and crude language. would be rated R now, but is rated PG from back in the day.
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AGE
Dont call me shirly
Hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Directors: | David Zucker, Jerry Zucker |
| Cast: | Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 88 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | July 2, 1980 |
| DVD release date: | October 24, 2000 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | sex and drug references. |
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