There aren't many films that can be credited with creating an entire subgenre, but Airplane! certainly qualifies. It's difficult to imagine what the past four decades of parody films would've been like if this weird little lampoon hadn't been as big of a hit as it was. Airplane! turned the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker team into a cottage industry and it completely changed the career trajectory of character actor Leslie Nielsen, but its impact left even more ripples. Airplane! defied the assumptions of what kind of comedic film could make money. Airplane! redefined how a comedy film could be structured. Hell, it isn't even that much of a stretch to argue that the rapid fire, 13-gags-per-second pace of Airplane! influenced everything from The Simpsons to 30 Rock.
Ryan is joined by Rachel for an episode where they defy conventional wisdom and examine why they think certain jokes are funny. Talking points include Leslie Nielsen's status as an American treasure, the complexities behind this film's casting of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and how Airplane! was a minor miracle that nobody could quite recreate in many, many subsequent attempts.
