Airplane II: The Sequel
Paramount Home Entertainment   -   1982   -   84 minutes

Reviewed by Erick Klafter

Review Date: April 23, 2003

FOR STARTERS

PHOTO GALLERY Those helpful lit signs.

Ever had a stressful day and wish you could just curl up and die? Well, get a beer, sit on the couch, and pop in one of the dumbest yet silliest movies of the past 20 years: Airplane II: The Sequel. A direct knock-off of the original Airplane movie, which had displayed more stupidity and silliness than a Los Angeles Clippers game, this rendition tries to duplicate and in fact surpasses it. Instead of a 767 jet, this time our story takes place inside of an advanced lunar shuttle, which is on its maiden voyage to the moon. Ted Striker (Robert Hays) was selected as the shuttle�s test pilot due to his heroic yet unconventional landing of the 767 jet some years earlier. To get the shuttle ready for launch, the �boys on the board� cut corners and unbeknownst to Striker, crashed the shuttle during the test flight. To cover it up, Striker was accused of cracking under pressure, sued and sent to the Ronald Reagan Hospital for the Mentally Ill.

Upon hearing that the shuttle is going forward with its maiden voyage, Striker escapes from the hospital and buys a ticket from a scalper to get on board in hopes of stopping the flight. Striker desperately tries to convince his ex-girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hagerty) the flight should be stopped. Elaine dismisses him and the overhead lighting tells Striker to take his seat. After getting a jump-start from a late 70s Oldsmobile, the shuttle takes off for the moon. Soon after, the computer on the shuttle goes nuts, sending the shuttle off course, headed for the sun. The crew tries to override the computer, but in good ole� 2001: A Space Odyssey fashion, the captain is gassed and the first officers are sucked out the air lock.

Striker tries to discuss his woes with several passengers, driving them all to barf or kill themselves. He reflects back to the trial that stuck him in the funny farm, where despite several witnesses from the 767 incident come to his defense (including a witness who only speaks Jive), he is convicted of being loony. Soon after coming out of his reflection, Elaine realizes she is been wrong and tries to get Striker to once again save the day. Taking control of the ship is not so easy, and Striker needs help. He calls Lunar Control, and speaks to his pal, Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges), who has been re-hired just to save the shuttle. Together they try to get the ship turned around and once that little task is done, McCroskey turns over control to Buck Murdock (William Shatner) on the moon to assist in landing the crippled shuttle. Will the shuttle land safely? Will Ted Striker go mad? Will Buck Murdock give up on Striker? Watch the DVD and find out!

After seeing this movie more times than I can count, it still cracks me up. There are items in this movie that are so incredibly stupid you can�t help from laugh. The people in the airport asking stupid questions at information such as �What�s the fastest animal on earth?�, Transcendental airlines where there is chanting and non-chanting seating, and a very revealing screening security system are just the start. Striker escapes from the hospital and finds some random guy singing the theme to the Love Boat. Striker�s trial is priceless, with his star witness saying things like �Bro, was on. Didn�t trip. The people were freakin', and the pilots were laid down to the bone, homes.� And my personal favorite, Buck Murdock, giving out the stupidest orders I have ever heard. Be careful, your IQ may go down several points watching this flick.

VIDEO

The video on this DVD is certainly nothing to write home about. This movie is not meant to knock anyone�s socks off. At least it�s presented in anamorphic widescreen. It�s more like watching an hour and a half TV show. No special use of color is apparent, and the hues are all a little dated. People�s clothes are boring and have no pizzazz. The ship is a 99-cent model of the Space Shuttle that was probably sitting in someone�s desk drawer. The black space drop is awful. About the only cool thing was the sad attempt to make the ship look futuristic. There were plenty of switches, lights and knobs, but no levers.

AUDIO

(Yawn) With a whole five cents spent on transferring the glowing mono audio track, the center speaker is the only one in use here. Rear speakers don�t do squat. The bass is almost transparent, with possibly a few slight rumbles when the ship takes off, but nothing else even for me to fabricate. Trust me, it�s not the movie to blow out any windows. Hey, what do you want for such a stupid movie?

SUPPLEMENTS

Again, this section deserves another yawn. As boring as a menu can be. But, again for such a silly movie who cares about supplements. You can do scene selections and that is about it. It scores a big zero on the supplements scale. You can�t even get a trailer out of this one, so don�t look for it.

BOTTOM LINE

If you love absolute hilarity about a bunch of idiots flying a paper cup shuttle, then watch this movie. It will tickle your funny bone. I�ve watched it over 20 times, and still cannot stop laughing from the utter stupidity. So if you ever wanted your intelligence to come as close to those people Jay Leno interviews on the street, watch this movie.