In the conversation of the funniest comedies of all time, Airplane! is inevitably brought up. The 1980 parody film skewers the airline disaster films of the era with endless sight gags, ridiculous one-liners, and puns. While the genre it is spoofing may be outdated, the comedy in Airplane! holds up surprisingly well.
Of course, a movie that came out 40 years ago can't be expected to stand up to the scrutiny of audiences today. There are certain things in this movie that might have been acceptable back in its time that studios would never allow in a mainstream comedy. Have a look back at Airplane! and some of the things that it could not get away with today.
Airport Security
Given that the entire film is set within the world of commercial air travel, it's impossible not to notice the vast differences in how people travel now compared to how they traveled back in the 1980s.
One of the biggest differences that is immediately apparent is the lack of security at the airport. With so many jokes coming at the audience, it's easy to assume the ambivalent security is just another gag, but things like flying without luggage and being waved through security with little trouble are just how it used to be.
Visible Strings
It's not fair to criticize movies that were made decades ago for not being able to pull off effects as well as today's films do. However, Airplane! actually does handle their practical effects quite well and there are few things that look too dated unless that is meant to be the joke of course.
However, in the scene in which Ted and Elaine are dancing in the club, strings are used to allow Ted to pull off his impossible dance moves. The strings are just visible enough that it is clear the filmmakers were trying to hide them yet are still distracting. It's the kind of thing modern movies would never allow.
Dying Fish
There are certain things that would not be allowed on modern movie sets that might have gotten a pass decades ago. For instance, the treatment of animals on a movie set is taken very seriously these days whereas there might not have been much oversight in 1980.
In a scene spoofing the classic romance movie From Here to Eternity, Ted and Elaine are frolicking on the beach when a wave crashes over them, covering them in seaweed and fish. As they continue their romantic moment, a fish is seen flopping around in the sand. It appears to be a real fish that would be unacceptable by today's standards.
Abortion Joke
While there are plenty of movies that can allow viewers to find humor in dark subject matter, there are some topics that are hard to address with a throwaway gag. Early in the movie, there is a joke about the male and female announcer voices at the airport getting into an argument with each other which ends up discussing abortion.
Abortion is an incredibly sensitive topic for a lot of people. Again, while it can be talked about in a comedic way in some darker movies, Airplane! is a light, fun comedy, and a joke like that sort of takes the audience aback.
Teaching The Natives
In one of the movie's flashback sequences, we see Ted trying to get over his experiences of the war. He and Elaine travel to a remote island where they meet the natives and start teaching them things from Western civilization.
While the things they are teaching them are meant to be funny, the jokes aren't about how ignorant or racist it is for white people to think these natives need to know their way of life. It is a mindset of the "white savior" that is heavily criticized today, and for good reason.
Adult Kids
A lot of the jokes in the movie come from the brief moments with various passengers on the plane. There are a lot of colorful characters who offer funny additions to the overall story. One such side gag involves two young kids who act like adults traveling on an airplane.
At one point, the young boy brings the young girl a cup of coffee. He asks if she'd like milk or sugar and she replies, " I take it black… like my men." It's an uncomfortably sexual and racist line coming from a young actor.
Hitting Women
One of the most famous gags in the movie is when the flight attendant attempts to calm down a hysterical passenger. Dr. Rumack steps in to help, violently shaking and hitting the woman. The doctor is then called away and someone else steps in to deal with the woman. It then reveals a line up of passengers armed with various weapons, waiting to get a piece of the woman.
It is a hilarious moment, but for modern audiences, it can be a bit shocking to see a man hitting a woman so violently. It takes your breath away for a moment and makes you forget you're watching a silly comedy.
Talking Jive
Another famous gag from the film involves two Black passengers on the plane who are "speaking jive". When one of the men gets sick, a white woman approaches them claiming that she also speaks jive and converses with the men.
What might have been a funny gag at the time feels awfully uncomfortable all these years later. Not only is it painfully stereotypical, but the fact that it is subtitled with sophisticated language feels like an ugly racist insult.
Stereotypes
It was much more normal at this time to make jokes based on race, ethnicity, and religion. While some people could say that a movie like Airplane! gets away with such jokes because it makes fun of everyone, it's easy to overlook the fact that these jokes were mostly written by white men during this time.
Nowadays, audiences are much more sensitive to comedy that takes aim at those easy stereotypes that can be used to strengthen prejudices. While some audience might see it as harmless fun, it's not likely a studio would allow such jokes to be told.
Joey Meets The Pilot
Perhaps the most famous scene in the film is when a young boy named Joey is taken up into the cockpit to meet the pilot. The pilot greets him kindly and asks him if he's ever been in a cockpit before. The pilot's questions gradually become stranger and more inappropriate.
It is a hilarious and twisted scene that is still hard not to laugh at today. However, it would be easy to see modern studios getting too nervous about including such material in their mainstream comedy.