HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A GROWN MAN NAKED? OR THE ABILITY TO LAUGH AT OURSELVES

While there are many components of the film AIRPLANE and its many imitators, spin-offs etc. that make it funny from the sight gags to the puns and malapropisms, what I always thought was the funniest was bringing in well-respected authority figure type actors such as Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Leslie Neilsen, and, most importantly, Peter Graves to mouth the most ridiculous lines.

Graves who passed away yesterday was the perfect example. His career started in a bunch of low budget sci fi films such as THE BEGINNING OF THE END and western TV shows. From this he worked his way up to an excellent supporting performance in STALAG 17 and his his most famous portrayal Jim Phelps the spy hero of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.

The hardest thing for many of us to do even though it is very healthy is to take a moment to laugh at ourselves or laugh along with others when they poke fun at us (as long as it doesn’t get too personal). Graves was the example of this. He had such a straight arrow image that hearing him say dirty things to small boy cracked up an audience used to his past portrayal. Even if you didn’t know who he was, he did give an air of authority, the stolid hero which made the scene even funnier.

I think one who is light hearted enough to allow self-praody and a certain amount of mockery is someone who is very comfortable in their own skin. I think watching the state of the world today we could use more of that.

Here’s ten funny clips from Airplane including Peter Graves “Have you ever seen a grown man naked?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIAUbPDgaAg