Surely it’s been a moment since you last checked in on Airplane! , the progenitor of the relentless film genre known as the spoof comedy. I know I was surprised, on a recent rewatch, to be reminded of how unusually patient it is in building its fictional world before turning on its fire hose of jokes. Yes, it starts with a Jaws homage , as an airliner’s tail fin weaves in and out of the clouds. But the next several minutes are all about establishing the chaotic energy of the airport , the cast of luckless passengers unaware of the imminent disaster awaiting them, and the personalities of our protagonists, Ted Striker and Elaine Dickinson. Oh, and then an errant ground crew member sends a passenger plane crashing through a giant glass window.

It’s easy to forget, 45 years later, h

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