12 Jokes From ‘Airplane!’ to Remind You What An Actual Comedy Looks Like
You can call me a bitter old man, and people do. Grumpiness aside, though, I think there’s a fair argument to be made that modern comedies have a shocking lack of actual jokes in them. Setups and punchlines have been largely pushed aside in favor of awkward silences, or “he’s standing right behind me, isn’t he?,” copy-pasted a couple times into a script to provide the audience with at least a couple lines they know they’re supposed to laugh at.
Looking right at you, The Bear.
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If you want a testament to the joke density comedy used to offer, just watch the classic film Airplane!, for jokes like the 12 pitch-perfect quips below.
Big Tylenol
As classic as it gets. It touches on a universal truth: Planes kind of do look like a big Tylenol.
A Hospital? What Is It?
Nowadays you’d get a note like, “Someone not knowing what a hospital is just doesn’t feel believable.”
No, I’ve Been Nervous Lots of Times
Modern comedies strive for natural dialogue. Unfortunately, incredibly unnatural dialogue is much funnier.
Crash Positions
Airplane! is basically 88 minutes of people misunderstanding each other, and we need more of it.
Okay, Boys, Let’s Get Some Pictures
Some people might have rattled off that Tylenol joke and moved on to the next scene, but Airplane! follows it up with an equally delightful gag.
Boys’ Life/Nuns’ Life
The switcheroo itself is gold enough, but the surfing nun puts it over the top.
Famous Jewish Sports Legends
From the end of the very same clip, and I’m Jewish so I give you permission to laugh.
Smoking Ticket
A shame that nobody born now will ever understand this joke.
I Had Lasagna
You could try every food on earth in this spot and “lasagna” would still be the funniest possible option.
Whacking Material
The Movie Airplane!, genius.
Instead of barely-there, subtle comedy, sometimes it’s funnier to remove subtlety entirely.
Gate 8… Gate 9… Gate 10…
Of course Airplane! sticks the landing, pun intended.
Shirley
It’s maybe the most famous joke of the whole movie, and one of the most famous jokes in public consciousness, for a reason.