I saw Airplane when I was a senior in high school and thought it was the funniest movie I’d ever seen. My date, however, did not agree. In fact, she didn’t laugh at all. Not even once. Not even when the Japanese soldier stabbed himself to death in the window seat, rather than listen to Ted Striker drone on and on about his broken heart. When the credits rolled, she looked at me like I was an alien.
“What’s the matter with you?” she asked. “How was any of that funny?”
In her defense, there were others in the theater who didn’t get it, several of whom left early. But there were many others like me who not only laughed themselves sick but stayed to watch it again. So, my date left me in the theater and spent the next two hours shopping in the mall, while I laughed even harder the second time around.
“Tell me Johnny, have you ever seen a grown man naked?”
“Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!”
“Pardon me Stewardess, I speak Jive.”
And this gem, perhaps the greatest exchange in the history of cinema, between two very sophisticated ten-year old Caucasians dressed like adults.
Boy: Coffee?
Girl: Yes, please.
Boy: Cream?
Girl: No, I take it black….Like my men.
Later, in the food court, I bought my date a Coke and a slice of pizza, but it was too late. The damage had been done.
“I can’t believe you’d rather sit there alone and watch that stupid movie again instead of spending time with me. “Surely,” she said, “you not that much of an idiot.”
“Don’t be too sure,” I said. “And don’t call me Shirley.”
That was our last date, obviously, thanks to @TheDavidZucker, the man who wrote and directed this ridiculously silly film along with Jim Abrams and Jerry Zucker. Since its release, Airplane! is now considered one of the greatest comedy films ever made, inspiring numerous references, homages, and further parodies in popular culture. In fact, in 2010, Airplane! was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” proving once and for all that my date had no sense of humor.
What an honor to meet interview David Zucker, 46 years later. And what a relief to learn that he can still make me laugh…
Our whole conversation is here. https://bit.ly/TWIHI471DavidZucker
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