Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

 

One of the advantages of renting movies is the ability to see a movie and its sequel within a few weeks of each other. With Airplane 2 – The Sequel!, I felt like I was watching the same movie again. Robert Hays returns as Ted Striker, who, in this movie, was a test pilot for the Mayflower I. The Mayflower I is about to go on its maiden voyage to the moon, but Striker doesn’t think that it will make it. The shuttle is riddled with problems, such as faulty circuitry, but the mission is going ahead anyway.

Those in charge of the program had Striker committed to a mental institution, but he escapes in time to make it to the spaceport and purchase a ticket for the flight. (It was sold out months ago, but he finds a scalper willing to sell him a ticket.) Elaine, played again by Julie Hagerty, is on the flight, but she’s engaged to Simon Kurtz, played by Chad Everett. Captain Clarence Oveur is back as the pilot, but he has a new flight crew. The navigator is named Unger and the first officer is Dunn, giving us a great scene where the three of them recall the chain of command during the war. (“Well, technically, Dunn was over Unger and I was over Dunn.”)

The plot is very similar to the first movie. As I mentioned, Striker finds his way onto the flight and has to win the heart of Elaine while saving the day. He has the help of the control tower, but he winds up the hero. The movie seems to have been made simply to string the jokes together. Some of them are obvious, such as Sonny Bono going to the spaceport gift shop and actually buying a bomb. Some of them are a little more obscure. During the scene with Sonny Bono, you’ll notice a poster for Rocky XXXVIII. There’s another scene on the plane where you will probably miss a sign that reads, “UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY”. William Shatner also appears in the movie as a sort of parody of his role as Captain Kirk. (There’s even a shot of the U.S.S. Enterprise flying by.)

There were no DVD extras in the version that I got from NetFlix. (It’s possible that there are other versions out there.) This means that you may be buying just the movie. If that’s the case, avoid it. It was almost like I was watching the first movie a second time. The only thing that was new was the set of jokes and gags. It’s good, but not that good. The movie gets three stars.

IMDb page

Airplane! (1980)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

I’ve often said that comedy could get away with a little more because we accept the fact that we’re watching the movie for the jokes and not the plot. I have to admit that Airplane! does pretty well with its plot. The movie starts with Ted Striker following Elaine into an airport. The two of them used to be together, but Elaine left Ted; now Ted wants her back. Ted was a pilot during The War. He led many brave men into a situation where few returned and he holds himself responsible. That, ultimately, let to their breakup. It also explains why he’s never been able to get on a plane since. Somehow, he manages to get himself onto Elaine’s plane. (She’s a flight attendant.) Nothing’s ever that simple, though. The pilot, copilot, navigator and many of the passengers come down with food poisoning. It’s up to Ted and Elaine to land the plane.

The movie is mostly jokes. For instance, before boarding the plane, the pilot gets a message from the Mayo Clinic. The doctor on the other end of the line has many jars of mayonnaise behind him. He then gets a call from someone named Mr. Hamm. The pilot says, “Ok. Give me Hamm on 5. Hold the Mayo.”

There’s also Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who plays the copilot, Roger. Whenever anyone ends by saying roger, he thinks they’re talking to him. When a child passenger gets to see the cockpit, he instantly recognizes the copilot, insisting that he’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The child finally gets him to admit it by saying how his father thinks that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn’t that good of a player.

Some of the jokes are dated. One of the running gags in the movie is all of the people handing out religious flyers. You really don’t see that as much anymore. The opening credits mock Jaws, which probably won’t have the same significance to a lot of younger audiences. It was also never stated which war Ted fought in, although there are some flashback scenes involving him and Elaine. One involves battling girl scouts and dancing to the Bee Gees.

It’s a funny movie. The only weak part in the acting was Abdul-Jabbar; However, I think his part was great. It pokes fun at characters that don’t recognize famous people that happen to be playing other characters. The movie has some vulgarity in it and we do get to see breasts a few times. I think it would be a good idea to wait before showing this movie to the kids. Even after almost 25 years, it’s still a funny movie. 

IMDb page