10 Movies To Watch if You Love 'Airplane!' (2024)

Disaster movies were huge in the ‘70s, with films like The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure putting characters in harrowing life-or-death situations. And then in 1980, Airplane! happened, telling the story of a former fighter pilot being forced to safely land a plane after its crew fell ill due to food poisoning, with the help of the plane's stewardess, who happened to be his ex-girlfriend. The film is based on the drama Zero Hour!, with subplots borrowed from Airport, and is a brilliant spoof of disaster movies packed with plentiful references to other films, both obscure and infamous. It also gave us Leslie Nielsen, whose deadpan delivery is still unmatched—although he'd worked in drama before, Airplane! made him into one of the most memorable comedic actors of the '80s.

Although few films have managed parody as hilariously as Airplane!, some have come close—a great parody is tough to pull off, and parody films can quickly become outdated. But a few writers and directors are especially skilled at it, including the directing trio of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, and some actors are especially skilled at bringing their characters to life, such as Nielsen. It's no coincidence many great parodies feature one or all of them, and even when they're not involved, their influence can still be felt. The best parodies prove their creators have to have a real understanding of the genres they’re parodying, as well as general film history. They also prove that at its best, the genre is much smarter than silly gags.

10 'Spies Like Us' (1985)

Dir. John Landis

In Spies Like Us, Austin Millbarge (Dan Aykroyd) and Emmett Fitz-Hume (Chevy Chase) meet while taking the entrance exam for a CIA espionage program, each for a different reason—Austin wants to work as a secret agent, while Emmett has been pressured by his family. Despite failing, both are enlisted as spies, but after being sent to the Soviet Union for what they think is a top-secret mission, they learn they are decoys for the real spies.

Spies Like Us is a buddy comedy and parody of the spy movie, with slapstick-style humor from two of the biggest names in comedy at the time, who had starred on Saturday Night Live together. More specifically, the movie is a homage to the Road to… movies, starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. It’s also notable for featuring a song of the same name written and performed for the film by Paul McCartney.

Spies Like Us

Release Date

December 6, 1985

Director

John Landis

Cast

Chevy Chase , Dan Aykroyd , Steve Forrest , Donna Dixon , Bruce Davison , Bernie Casey

Writers

Dan Aykroyd , Dave Thomas , Lowell Ganz , Babaloo Mandel

9 'National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1'

Dir. Gene Quintano

Los Angeles police officers Wes Luger (Samuel L. Jackson), a family man preparing for retirement, and Jack Colt (Emilio Estevez), a wild card suffering from a tragic loss, investigate the death of colleague Sgt. Billy York (Whoopi Goldberg) in National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1, a parody of the Lethal Weapon series. They learn that Wilderness Girl Cookies are being laced with cocaine and set out to find out how and why.

Loaded Weapon 1 is a great yet underrated spoof of buddy-cop action movies with fast-paced gags, released just as the genre was having a moment in the early ‘90s. The movie boasts an impressive star-studded cast, and they have great chemistry with each other. Some of its most memorable moments come from stars in smaller roles, especially William Shatner and Tim Curry—entertaining and over-the-top as ever—as the villain and his henchman, respectively.

National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1

Release Date

February 4, 1993

Cast

Emilio Estevez , Samuel L. Jackson , jon lovitz , Tim Curry , Kathy Ireland , Frank McRae , William Shatner , Dhiru Shah , Gokul , Tom Bergman , Danny Castle , Lance Kinsey , Bill Nunn , Joyce Brothers , Lin Shaye , Vito Scotti , Ken Ober , James Doohan , Richard Moll , F. Murray Abraham , Charlie Sheen , Denis Leary , Denise Richards , Suzie Hardy , Karman Kruschke

Writers

Don Holley

8 'Wrongfully Accused' (1998)

Dir. Pat Proft

Nielsen stars as Ryan Harrison, a clumsy concert violinist who was having an affair with a socialite, in Wrongfully Accused. After her husband, arts patron Hibbing Goodhue (Michael York), is murdered, Harrison is accused, convicted of and sentenced to death for the killing, forcing him to prove his innocence. When the bus transporting him to death row crashes, Harrison seizes the opportunity to go on the run. The film is a parody of The Fugitive.

Like many other parodies—especially ones starring Nielsen—Wrongfully Accused features fast-paced, gag-a-minute slapstick humor and takes full advantage of the opportunity to put Nielsen in a number of absurd situations. While primarily a parody of The Fugitive and similar movies, complete with not only the same plot points but also some common stylistic choices, the movie also includes references to plenty of other films and TV shows, especially ones popular in the ‘90s, such as Baywatch and Titanic.

Wrongfully Accused

Release Date

July 23, 1998

Director

Pat Proft

Cast

Leslie Nielsen , Richard Crenna , Kelly LeBrock , Melinda McGraw , Aaron Pearl , Leslie Jones , Ben Immanuel , Sandra Bernhard , Michael York , Gerard Plunkett , Duncan Fraser , John Walsh , Maury Hannigan , Chick Hearn , Lamb Chop , Brian Arnold , Guy Bews , Mary Black , Michael S. Bolton , Jacques Bourassa , Ken Boyd , Alexander Boynton , Johnathon Bruce , Rick Burgess , Charn Gandam

7 'Murder by Death' (1976)

Dir. Robert Moore

The world’s best private detectives—each a sendup of a famous fictional detective—are brought together to a bizarre mansion owned by an eccentric millionaire Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) in mystery spoof Murder by Death. During a dinner party, the detectives are informed they’re being asked to solve a murder that hasn’t happened yet, and the one who solves it first will receive $1 million. In addition to the detectives, the house is also occupied by Twain’s blind butler and deaf-mute maid.

Murder by Death features some great twists and turns typical of the genre it’s spoofing. Elements of the movie haven’t aged well—most notably, Peter Sellers’ performance in yellowface as a Japanese man, although he does have some of the funniest lines—but it’s an otherwise great parody. It’s also memorable for its star-studded cast, which, in addition to Sellers, includes Peter Falk, David Niven, Maggie Smith, Alec Guinness and more, including a wonderful appearance from Truman Capote.

Murder by Death

A parody of classic detective stories featuring a gathering of famous sleuths at the mansion of the enigmatic Lionel Twain. The detectives, each a caricature of well-known fictional investigators, are invited under the pretense of solving a murder that hasn't happened yet. As the clock strikes midnight, they are plunged into a series of absurd and comedic situations. The story unfolds with twists and turns, poking fun at the conventions of the murder mystery genre and keeping the audience guessing until the end.

Release Date

June 23, 1976

Director

Robert Moore

Cast

Truman Capote , Alec Guinness , Peter Sellers , David Niven , Maggie Smith

Writers

Neil Simon

6 'Amazon Women on the Moon' (1987)

Dir. Joe Dante

Amazon Women on the Moon is a series of unrelated comedy sketches and a spoof of 1950s sci-fi B-movies—and specifically the experience of watching those movies on late-night TV. The movie is centered around a fictional movie called, of course, Amazon Women on the Moon, airing on a channel plagued by technical difficulties, which leads the viewer to channel-surf. The result is a satire of late-night commercials, with occasional glimpses of the movie in question.

The style of Amazon Women on the Moon is similar to modern shows like Robot Chicken, structured around the concept of channel-surfing and a movie within a movie. Some jokes, such as “Video Pirates,” remain surprisingly relevant today. The movie is also full of appearances from some of the era’s biggest stars, as well as up-and-comers who would go on to become big stars, including Arsenio Hall, Michelle Pfeiffer, Carrie Fisher and more.

See Also

How Denise Crosby Talked Her Way Back Onto “Star Trek: The Next Generation”

Amazon Women on the Moon

Release Date

September 18, 1987

Director

Carl Gottlieb , Joe Dante , John Landis , Peter Horton

Cast

Arsenio Hall , Donald F. Muhich , Michelle Pfeiffer , Peter Horton , Monique Gabrielle , Lou Jacobi , Steve Forrest , Erica Yohn , Griffin Dunne , Joey Travolta , Debbi A. Davison , Sybil Danning , Phil Hartman , Rosanna Arquette , Kelly Preston , Russ Meyer , Carrie Fisher , Marc McClure , David Alan Grier , Joe Pantoliano , Belinda Balaski , Archie Hahn , Forrest J. Ackerman , Mike Mazurki , Lana Clarkson

Writers

Jim Mulholland

5 'History of the World, Part 1' (1981)

Dir. Mel Brooks

The history of the world is retold through a series of vignettes, from the earliest days of humanity to classic Bible stories to the French revolution, in anthology film The History of the World, Part I. It was written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks, who also appears in five different roles, and features an ensemble cast. A sequel was released in the form of individual episodes streaming on Hulu.

When it comes to parody, few writers and directors do it as well as Brooks—while there are plenty of his films to choose from, The History of the World is among the best. It features some of his most frequent collaborators, including the incomparable Madeline Kahn. Like Brooks’ other work, as well as Airplane!, The History of the World is absurd yet clever, and some of its segments have become iconic.

The History of the World: Part I

Where to Watch

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Release Date

June 12, 1981

Director

Mel Brooks

Cast

Mel Brooks , Dom DeLuise , Madeline Kahn , Harvey Korman , Cloris Leachman , Ron Carey

Writers

Mel Brooks

Tagline

Ten million years in the making. The truth, the whole truth, and everything, but the truth!

4 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights' (1993)

Dir. Mel Brooks

After escaping from prison in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Robin of Loxley (Cary Elwes) frees the other prisoners and returns home, where he sets out to put an end to the corruption and abuse of power of Prince John (Richard Lewis). The movie is a parody of the classic story of Robin Hood, specifically the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Brooks has tackled just about everything at this point. Robin Hood: Men in Tights features his signature humor, as well as some meta humor about being a Brooks movie. And, like most of Brooks’ films, he appeared in a minor role, and it was also one of the earliest roles of comedian Dave Chappelle. Best of all, though, Men in Tights actually holds up as one of the best versions of Robin Hood.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights

After escaping from a prison in Jerusalem, a charismatic swordsman returns to his English village to find it under the oppressive rule of a corrupt prince. With the help of a band of unlikely allies, he dons a disguise and sets out to rob from the rich, give to the poor, and bring levity back to the land.

Release Date

July 28, 1993

Director

Mel Brooks

Cast

Cary Elwes , Richard Lewis , Roger Rees , Amy Yasbeck , Mark Blankfield , Dave Chappelle , Isaac Hayes , Megan Cavanagh

3 'Top Secret!' (1984)

Dir. Jim Abrahams, David and Jerry Zucker

Val Kilmer stars in Top Secret! as American singer Nick Rivers, who visits East Germany to perform in a music festival as a distraction during the Cold War. While there, he falls in love with French resistance fighter Hillary Flammond (Lucy Gutteridge) and accidentally gets wrapped up in the resistance’s plot to find a scientist working on a dangerous secret weapon. The movie was Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker’s follow-up to Airplane!

Top Secret!, a parody of spy films and Elvis Presley’s musicals, was Kilmer’s first movie, and it’s often under-appreciated. It’s a brilliant parody of two different types of film, as well as a great example of how sharp and clever Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker can be. But it isn’t just noteworthy for its humor—it also features some great filmmaking tricks, including a scene in reverse and an underwater bar fight.

2 'Hot Shots!' (1991)

Dir. Jim Abrahams

In Hot Shots!, a spoof of Top Gun, skilled but troubled pilot Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen), haunted by the memory of his father’s death while flying a fighter jet, is coaxed out of retirement to help with a mission being sabotaged by a greedy weapons manufacturer. Meanwhile, Topper is often at odds with his rival, Kent Gregory (Cary Elwes). The movie was followed by the sequel Hot Shots! Part Deux, a parody of the Rambo films.

Hot Shots! features the same humor and quotable lines as other Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker films, as well as references to a number of other films across genres. Sheen’s deadpan delivery is excellent—he also demonstrates his skill for it in the Scary Movie franchise, another memorable series of parodies dedicated to horror. The film also includes a great appearance from comedian Ryan Stiles, who would go on to become known for his work in improv-comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Watch on Hulu

1 'The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!' (1988)

Dir. Jim Abrahams, David and Jerry Zucker

In The Naked Gun, bumbling, incompetent Detective Frank Drebin (Nielsen) investigates a plot to use mind control to turn innocent people into assassins—and among their targets is Queen Elizabeth. It also stars Priscilla Presley, and like Airplane!, it was directed by Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. It was based on the short-lived TV series Police Squad! and was followed up with two sequels, and a reboot is scheduled for release in 2025.

Thanks to the involvement of the trio of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, The Naked Gun shares plenty of similarities in tone and humor with Airplane!, including fast-paced slapstick and seemingly endlessly quotable one-liners, all played straight. And, of course, like Airplane!, The Naked Gun lends itself well to multiple viewings, and it’s hard to imagine without Nielsen. The film, as well as its sequels, is a parody of police-procedural TV shows.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

Where to Watch

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Release Date

December 2, 1988

Director

David Zucker

Cast

Leslie Nielsen , Priscilla Presley , Ricardo Montalban , George Kennedy , O.J. Simpson , Susan Beaubian

Writers

Jerry Zucker , Jim Abrahams , David Zucker , Pat Proft

Tagline

The Villain. Even Mother Teresa wanted him dead.

NEXT: The 10 Best Mel Brooks Movies, Ranked