Airplane! (8/10): It changed the spoof genre and gave Neeson a new career.

“I take it black, like my men.”

It's a shame I never got to see this hilarious film sooner because Airplane! has been influencing comedies over the past 35 years now, and many spoof films have borrowed heavily from it. However I still managed to find the jokes quite refreshing and there are many quotable lines here. Just thinking about the best quotes in the movie bring a smile back to my face. The trio of directors and writers, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, often referred to as the ZAZ team, deliver a witty and highly quotable film. They went on to direct seperate films as well and they each proved to be incredibly talented. Their greatest accomplishment was taking serious actors and trusting in them to deliver dead pan humor. No one did this better than Leslie Neeson who reinvented his career after this and is now remembered by everyone for his spoof films. He was a perfect fit for the material and no one could deliver the ZAZ's ridiculous lines better than he did. Airplane! is a spoof film of disaster movies that is so cleverly written and well directed that it's hard to believe that now more than 30 years later it is still leagues better than any modern spoof comedy. The film didn’t have to worry about being politically correct and there were many jokes that no studio would dare to put into their films now.  

Ted Striker (Robert Hays) is an ex-Air Force pilot who has been afraid of flying ever since he suffered a terrible accident. His girlfriend, Elaine (Julie Hagerty), has decided to end their relationship because he is not going anywhere in life. She breaks the news to him right before boarding a flight as part of the crew. Desperate to win her back, Ted faces his fears and decides to get on board the flight as well. In mid air several of the passengers begin to feel ill from food poisoning, including the pilots, Captain Oveur (Peter Graves) and Murdock (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Dr. Rumack (Leslie Neeson) is in the flight as well so he is asked to treat the ill passengers. With no pilot remaining, Elaine asks Ted to save everyone on board. With the help of McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) giving instructions from the control room, Ted will have to confront his fears in order to safely land the plane and save everyones lives.

The film does take a while to take off as it slowly introduces some of the characters including the Ted and Elaine relationship. It's not until Neeson appears on screen that the comedy really hits on all cylinders. He has great chemistry with Bridges and Hays so getting to see the three of them deliver their serious dead pan humor was a treat. Abrahams went on to work with Bridges in the Hot Shots movies, which also ranks as one of the better examples of spoof films, while David Zucker had tremendous success working alongside Neeson in The Naked Gun franchise. Jerry Zucker didn’t have the same success with comedies, but he directed the widely beloved romantic film, Ghost. So all three directors proved their worth after the huge success in Airplane! but they also have had success in their individual projects as well. However there is no doubt that their contribution for this film laid the groundworks for what was yet to come and hopefully modern spoof films can find inspiration once again from their work. The genre seems to be dead right now, but what a revival Airplane! was for the genre in the 80’s and 90’s.  

Ghost (6/10): One of the top hits of 1990

“It's amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you.”

Only one film beat Jerry Zucker’s Ghost at the U.S. Box Office in 1990 and that was Home Alone, but Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore’s romantic fantasy managed to take everyone by surprise as it topped other films like Pretty Woman, Dances With Wolves, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Total Recall, Goodfellas, and even the sequels for Die Hard, The Godfather, Robocop, and Back to the Future. What is surprising is that this ghost tale still remains such a beloved classic to this date, thanks in most part to the amazing chemistry between Swayze and Moore and to the fantastic soundtrack performed by The Righteous Brothers. I don’t know however, if this film would’ve worked without Whoopi Goldberg’s hilarious supporting performance (which won her her only Oscar) considering the story doesn’t really pick off until she enters the picture. Of course that overly emotional touching scene at the end is what everyone probably remembers (and the reason why this film won an Oscar for Original Screenplay), but I don’t think it has aged too well. The film is entertaining, although it is cheesy at times and the visual effects don’t live up to today’s standards. What surprised me the most when I saw this is how well it balances those melodramatic moments with the comedy, because I always believed this film was a romantic tale from beginning to end, but it really is more of an action comedy with several twists along the way (albeit predictable ones). There is no doubt that the universal premise of wanting to believe that our loved ones are still with us when they pass away to protect and guard us is what really sold this film and Ghost easily manages to tell that story with two likable actors sharing a strong chemistry together.

The film opens by introducing us to a lovely couple, Sam (Patrick Swayze) and Molly (Demi Moore), who’ve just bought a property and are ready to make their dreams a reality. Carl (Tony Goldwyn) is Sam’s good friend and work partner at the bank who is always there supporting him and Molly. However, their dreams are shattered when Sam is murdered after a thug tries to steal his wallet one night. Sam’s spirit remains on Earth and he discovers that this wasn’t simply a robbery and that Molly’s life is also in danger. He must warn her before it’s too late, but no one seems to see or hear him. That is until Sam meets a psychic named Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) who will try to convince Molly that she can speak to her dead lover’s spirit before it is too late.

Up to this point Jerry Zucker was known mainly for co-directing satires like the classic Airplane!, Top Secret!, and Ruthless People. Prior to his solo directorial feature debut in Ghost, he had helped write the screenplay for Naked Gun as well, so he was mainly known for his work in satires. Many probably believed this ghost story was just another satire and so the romantic story took everyone by surprise. I’m sure Bruce Willis was regretting not having accepted to co-star along with his wife at the time, and that may be the reason why he accepted to star in The Sixth Sense years later. It’s a different film but it does seem to borrow certain ghostly elements from this romantic tale. I did find it kind of ironic that in the 90’s you had these actors standing next to each other being forced to act as if they couldn’t see one another, while now you actually have actors forced to talk to characters who aren’t there but thanks to the magic of movies and CGI are easily placed later.