Quite possibly one of the funniest films known to man, Airplane! at the very least contains the highest joke-to-plot ratio of any film ever made. Ostensibly a satire of the disaster pictures that were popular in the '70s, the plot is really just an excuse for the filmmakers to throw every gag in the book at the viewer, from sight gags to wordplay to just about the dumbest humor committed to celluloid. Somehow, the gleeful abandon of taste and high-brow sensibilities works completely. Though the writing/directing team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker would go on to make several more comedies, none attained the level of creativity and humor of this one.
Wed., Jan. 2, 7:30 p.m., 2008
