Helio Could this film even be considered to be made much less released today? It shows physical abuse against women several times: getting slapped around, shaken, punched and humilated in various scenes seemed to be a common theme. How did people (the writers, the actors, the director, the audience) think this was funny?

tomgillespie2002 The original Airplane! from 1980 is highly regarded as one of the funniest films of all time, and most certainly the best 'spoof' ever made. Boasting the writing talents of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (Z/A/Z), the film accurately lampooned the formulaic disaster movies from the 1970's, which commonly boasted a ridiculously large roster of former A-list superstars to battle against whatever crisis they found themselves caught up in. It was a huge success, but Z/A/Z scoffed at the idea of a sequel. Paramount decided to go ahead and make one anyway despite the protestations of the creators, and hired the writer of Grease 2 (1982) to make the magic happen once again.Predictably, Airplane II - amusingly subtitled The Sequel - doesn't come close to matching the hilarity of the original, doing what most bad comedy sequels do and re-hashing most of the humour that worked so well previously, only without the same conviction or execution. Most of the original cast return, and this time find themselves on board a lunar shuttle named Mayflower One headed for the moon (it's set in the near future). It short-circuits, causing its on-board AI to go insane and change course for the Sun. Ted Stryker (Robert Hays), the hero from the first movie, escapes from the insane asylum he was placed in by his employers after he discovered technical problems with the space shuttles, and boards the Mayflower in the hope of averting disaster. Also on board is his old flame Elaine (Julie Hagerty), who is now engaged to one of the flight crew, Simon Kurtz (Chad Everett).Despite the absence of the original writers, there are still a few laughs to be had throughout the film, namely in the form of the permanently stressed and chain-smoking air traffic controller Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) and his incessantly chirpy assistant Jacobs (Stephen Strucker). There are welcome new faces as well, such as Chuck Connors, Raymond Burr, Rip Torn and William Shatner. But the saddest thing is that the best jokes are the ones re-worked from the original, with writer/director Ken Finkleman failing to inject enough humour to make this one stand out on its own and not just be remembered as the weak sequel to one of the funniest farces ever made. The surprise stand-out from the original, the late, great Leslie Nielsen, also sadly doesn't return. Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker claimed on a DVD commentary that they have never seen this film, and they'd probably do well to keep it that way.

sol- 'Flying High II' - or as it is better known, 'Airplane II: The Sequel' - this follow-up feature takes place in the near future and this time involves disaster on a plane trip to the moon. While the destination differs, this sequel has been quite rightly described as "more of the same", a characteristic which has its pluses and minuses. On the positive side, returning co-stars Roberts Hays and Julie Hagerty do equally well with the deadpan humour on hand, and the gag ratio is just as high here with some of the funniest moments left to the backdrop (a poster for 'Rocky 38' with an aged Stallone; two foreigners spitting their drinks when they overhear Hays mention a bomb). On the less positive side, several gags are copied directly from the first film without variation, which results in less spontaneity, especially when it comes to overly familiar lines like an emphatic "you can tell me". Science fiction (as opposed to disaster films) are, however, the lampoon target here and the futuristic setting allows for greater creativity, especially in terms of sets and costumes. The '2001: A Space Odyssey'/HAL parody is simply excellent and its fun to see William Shatner essentially spoofing his own 'Star Trek' persona. Yes, this sequel may not be as fresh and original as its predecessor, but it is very decent of its sort - even if the film was made without the blessing of the original movie's writer-directors.

OllieSuave-007 This is the sequel to David and Jerry Zucker's "Airplane!," written and directed by Ken Finkleman. Instead of jet liner, a space shuttle is featured. It is booked with passengers and sent to space on a first ever voyage, and also on board are the stars from the previous film: Ted Striker (Robert Hays), Elaine (Julie Hagerty) and Captain Oveur (Peter Graves). While at first a smooth ride, a faulty computer causes the shuttle to head straight for the Sun.Probably not as popular or as funny as the first movie, but jokes, absurd humor and slapstick comedy are still in abundance. Again, the actors' calm and witty demeanor shy away from the over-the-top and childish funniness you usually find in nonsensical comedies. Like the first film, the occasional off-the-wall events would pop up from time to time, for example, barking suitcases, time bombs for sale, waltzing in space, etc). I also love how the Jive guy explains to the judge Striker's heroic deeds from the first movie, and Murdock's (William Shatner) commanding but space-less demeanor as he tries to send commands to the space shuttle from the space station.Overall, this is a great comedy that will keep you entertained and hooting.Grade A-