directed by jim abrahams , david zucker , and jerry zucker running time : 88 minutes originally released : 1980 airplane ! is considered among many to be the epitome of satire film-making . after all , it's brought to us by one of the best known satire writing/directing teams . even if most people don't recognize the names behind the films , they are bound to recognize the titles : airplane ! , top secret , the naked gun , and hot shots to name a few . but although the zucker/abrahams/zucker team was first introduced with the kentucky fried movie in 1977 , airplane ! remains the true cornerstone of their work , and their directorial debuts . in the seventies , disaster films seemed to be at an all time high . films like earthquake , the towering inferno , and the poseidon adventure were big hits . there was also a series about the disasters that can arise when traveling by plane - a series that spanned the entire decade . and so , in 1980 , we were introduced to a new airplane disaster film . this time the disaster had nothing to do with a maniacal hijacker or crashing into the ocean . . . it had to do with bad fish . airplane ! is the story of ted striker ( robert hays ) - an ex-fighter-pilot who has never gotten over the fact that a decision he had to make in the midst of war led to the death of six , er , seven comrades . unable to stop living in the past , ted's world fell apart . he spent his time moving from city to city without ever having a stable job , and eventually , as we begin this film , is getting dumped by his lover , flight attendant elaine dickinson ( julie hagerty ) . in a desperate attempt not to lose her , ted buys a ticket for the same flight elaine is working . unfortunately , she is unsympathetic and even criticizes ted for following her , which leaves him wallowing in self-pity . in the midst of it all , something happens . someone gets sick . then another . then another . soon , the whole plane is full of deathly-ill chicago-bound people . . . and when the pilots get sick ( played by peter graves , kareem abdul-jabbar , and frank ashmore ) , who will save the day ? ( gee , i wonder ) of course the main draw here is the non-stop " whiz-bang " comedy , with a hefty dose of both visual and spoken gags . although i had seen this movie a few times before , i was still laughing thru the entire thing . the most fun character by far is the doctor , played by leslie nielsen . he's a dry , subtle , sterotypically straight-faced doctor that ends up saying some of the funniest lines of the film . in a film like this , you're not really expecting an elaborate production , so one can't complain about the amateurish quality . what you can complain about is the absolutely annoying johnny , played by stephen stucker . this character is pointless , nauseating , and very unfunny . i don't know why he was put in there , and i don't think anybody will find a good excuse . and when the film nears an end , it slows down quite a bit , almost getting old . you gotta give it to a movie that only runs 88 minutes and can feel two hours long . aside from that , airplane ! is really a top-notch spoof that will likely forever be known as a spoof classic . it would be a good choice to pop in the vcr with a group of friends , especially if they haven't seen it . and if they ask what the plot is , just tell 'em " it's a synopsis of the basic storyline of the film , but that's not important right now . " if you've seen the film , you'll understand ; - ) 
