Larry Gaye - Completely Off the Ground - Blu-ray

Content: Larry Gaye (Mark Feuerstein) is a flight attendant with heart and soul. Admittedly, he would have much rather become a pilot. But his narcolepsy has put a spoke in his wheel. And so he is now completely absorbed in his function as a juice pusher. He has even difficult passengers under control and he can smell troublemakers a mile away. There's no one who could hold a candle to Larry Gaye in his profession - until the airline decides to replace all the flight attendants with cheaper and more attractive robots (Rebecca Romijn). Now it's up to Larry to prove to the decision-makers that a robot will never be as good as a human flight attendant. But the crucial test turns into a disaster. Will Larry still get the chance to show everyone what he's made of?

Larry Gaye is clearly inspired by the spoof comedies of the Zucker-Abrahms-Zucker era, and most especially by The Incredible Voyage in a Crazy Airplane. It's not just the brief guest appearance by Julie Hagerty, who here reprises the role of the flight attendant from that cult comedy, that makes this so. Also various puns (for example with Larry's last name) or the visit to an Asian restaurant do not remind purely coincidentally of the style of the legendary Kentucky Fried Movie trio. The problem with such an obvious bow to idols is that you're bound to be compared to them. That's the case here, too. But even though director Sam Friedlander and screenwriter Mike Sikowitz (Friends, Rules of Engagement) do a great job of capturing the spirit of classic spoof comedies in some scenes, many of the other gags lack the dry wit and humorous aim that make cult classics like The Naked Gun and Top Secret so timelessly funny.

Really convincing is Mark Feuerstein, who previously worked with Friedlander on the series Royal Pains. He plays the completely over-the-top role of the self-absorbed flight attendant, who suffers from enormous overconfidence and who mispronounces proverbs with nice regularity, with an amusing mix of tongue-in-cheek self-irony and seriousness, which gives some scenes their wit in the first place. But also the many prominent supporting actors ensure that Larry Gaye despite some pale jokes and silliness is acting a clear high flyer.

If the gags would have turned out a little more biting and a little more often also hit the intended punchline, the best flight attendant in the world and his team would have had quite the stuff of a cult film. So the whole thing has become just a nice fun with some very funny moments, but a little too often misses the approach to the humorous runway. Still, if you enjoy uninhibitedly silly comedies like The Incredible Journey in a Crazy Airplane, you'll be able to laugh often enough here to guarantee an enjoyable evening at home. And for this there is then also a proper: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The Blu-ray presents the comedy in good picture and sound quality. The visuals are pleasing with a high level of image sharpness and very vibrant colors. The matching of contrasts and black levels is also on a good level and support the overall positive impression throughout. The audio is present in a fairly lively DTS-HD Master Audio mix that keeps things moving with its soundtrack and some nice surround effects. Good!

Extras: Besides the trailer and a music clip (approx. 1:56 min.), which is also featured in the film's credits, there are just a couple of cut scenes (approx. 5:53 min.) and more programming tips from the provider.

Conclusion: Larry Gaye likes to pay tribute to the classic spoof comedies from the legendary Zucker-Abrahms-Zucker era. This over-the-top comedy then succeeds surprisingly well in some scenes. In other moments, however, the gags lack bite and the punchlines fall flat. The many good supporting actors, some of whom only shine with brief guest appearances, can at least make up a little ground. The Blu-ray offers at least on the technical side no reason to complain. The bonus material, on the other hand, is a little weaker. And so the bottom line is: this flight attendant is definitely good for a few laughs. If that's enough for you, you can have a lot of fun here. And then a satisfied: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp