Stewardess School

"Stewardess School" is one of those movies you THINK you've seen because of the overly familiar title but you haven't. Much like the early "Airports" it's a spoof with a lot of former television actors you may have forgotten...but in this film they all give really good performances. That's why the movie shows up all the time on comedy cable stations. if you're not feeling like rushing right out and renting it, just wait, it'll be on a channel near you shortly. It's fun, innocent and funny but unfortunately got stuck with a title that makes it seem like something it isn't.. Like the nice girl in high school with the bad rep: "Stewardess School" is worth getting to know better.

Assorted misfits train to become flight attendants at a special college and get up to mischief while living on campus in this curious attempt to cross 'Animal House' with 'Airplane!' and 'Police Academy'. Long unavailable on DVD, the film does not have the most positive of reputations, but it does have a small cult following and it easy to see why. The gags that misfire are absolutely groan-inducing (flatulence in an elevator; a zillion pratfalls), but the ones that work are highly memorable - the best of which being the way one very innovative stewardess 'relieves' a stressed-out claustrophobic passenger. Another memorable part involves a prank on the female change rooms gone awry. Juvenile as some of the gags are (a literal salami to hide), the chief pitfall of the film is the lack of well developed characters. The two main male characters do not have much in the way of charm and charisma, while the female characters are barely defined beyond what they were before becoming stewardesses: spoiled rich kid, prostitute, etc. The fact that there are no big name stars in the cast has probably also contributed to the film's descent into obscurity (though Wendie Jo Sperber is great as always). This is, however, a far more decent film than one might expect with some positive and affirming messages about the ability of outcasts and those in the periphery to band together and succeed as a team. It would be an overstatement to describe 'Stewardess School' as an inspirational film, but it is an offbeat testament to the power of teamwork at the very least.