Airplane!

Movie review by Elliot Panek, Common Sense Media
Airplane! Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 14+

Rapid-fire spoof with sexual jokes and cartoon violence.

PG 1980 88 minutes
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Parents say

age 14+

Based on 45 reviews

Kids say

age 12+

Based on 128 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Airplane! is a fast-paced, comic parody of the very popular disaster movies of the 1970s (Airport, The Poseidon Adventure). For the makers of this film, nothing is to be taken seriously, not even an impending airplane crash. Many of the drug and sexual references may fly over the heads of younger viewers. But absolutely nothing is sacred -- sexuality, violence, racial stereotyping, and substance abuse all are grist for their ingenious silliness. There's brief nudity (breasts), lots of sexual innuendo, and sexual sight gags, including a romantic interlude between a stewardess and an inflatable pilot, and scenes in which a pedophile comes on to a young boy. Characters fall out of windows, commit suicide in a variety of ways, fight, drink alcohol, sniff glue, snort cocaine, and use occasional coarse language ("ass," "s--t," "crap," "pisser," and more).

Community Reviews

kimballtay
kimballtay Adult
August 31, 2020
age 18+

18+ for Full frontal nudity

The film has many sex jokes and mature themes. Several suicides, a hanging, and lots of swearing. The humor is funny, but not for families. Overall I was very disappointed. Many characters die in comedic ways.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
Lauren3280
Lauren3280 Adult
May 17, 2022
age 18+

CAUTION

*Caution* Im shocked at the common sense media rating! This movie is a classic and one of my favorites! Children young enough to miss the drugs and sexual content, are also too young to truly appreciate most of the humor. *Drug use: Snorting cocaine, sniffing glue, methamphetamine use, smoking. *Violence: Lots of violence as humor, multiple violent suicides used as comedy. *Sex: Naked breasts, woman giving a blow up doll a blow job, woman sleeping with a horse, etc. Hilarious film, but not for children! Kids that are 12 to 14 years old, are just old enough to get some of the innuendos, and have a TON of questions. If your not ready to have some serious answers, or your child consults the internet, instead of you, BE CAREFUL.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 45 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In AIRPLANE! 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, this movie reigns as king of all '80s parody films. Leslie Nielsen (in a precursor to his turn as Lt. Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun series), Robert Stack, and Lloyd Bridges appear to enjoy portraying characters that lampoon their previous dramatic roles. And, although the dialogue and references to films such as From Here to Eternity and Saturday Night Fever will appeal mainly to adults, site gags such as the jive-talking granny (played by Barbara Billingsley of Leave It to Beaver) and exchanges 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, Airplane! mixes embarrassingly obvious puns and sight gags with 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. They are not especially mean-spirited, yet some might interpret the film's off-color humor as offensive.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the use of humor in Airplane! and how several jokes are at the expense of women, people of color, war veterans, religious groups, and gays. How does context change the way we interpret comedy?

  • Parents also can talk about the nature of parody and how much of Airplane! is parodying other movies.

  • How well do you think the filmmakers succeed at nonstop jokes and silliness?

Movie Details

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