KEN FINKLEMAN

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB.5

USA, 1982.  Paramount Pictures, Howard W. Koch Productions.  Screenplay by Ken Finkleman.  Cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc.  Produced by Howard W. Koch.  Music by Elmer Bernstein.  Production Design by William Sandell.  Costume Design by Rosanna Norton.  Film Editing by Tina Hirsch, Dennis Virkler.  

Some of the inspiration is gone, but the laughs are still there. This time, the aircraft in question is a space shuttle that is transporting passengers to the moon. Julie Hagerty is back on board, though she’s been promoted from stewardess to computer navigator, while Robert Hays has been put away in a mental institution following a supposed breakdown. It seems he thinks that the shuttle is faulty and will blow up, and the corporation behind the making of it wants to keep him silent, but do you really think they’ll be able to? Lots of hilarious gags, including jabs at Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, a cameo by William Shatner spoofing his Star Trek persona, and a very inspired scene involving a uppity little dog named Scraps.   It’s a shame that director Ken Finkleman doesn’t have the same electric energy that the Zucker/Abrahams team brought to the original (and according to them, they still have never seen the film after it went into production without their permission).