''Stewardess School'' is a 1986 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Ken Blancato and starring

Brett Cullen Peter Brett Cullen (born August 26, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Dan Fixx in ''Falcon Crest'' (1986-1988), Sam Cain in ''The Young Riders'' (1989-1990), Governor Ray Sullivan in ''The West Wing'' (2005-2006), Goo ...

and

Don Most Don Most (born August 8, 1953) is an American actor and singer, best known for his role as Ralph Malph on the television series ''Happy Days''. Early life Most was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City. He lived in Flatbush, Brook ...

. It is also known for being one of voice veteran

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Anni ...

's very few onscreen roles, and up until the early 2000s, one of the most played films on the American

cable channel Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

Plot

Pilots Philo and George are about to land a plane, only for Philo to accidentally knock out his

contact lens Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...

es, causing the plane to malfunction and crash into a skyscraper. The destruction is then revealed to be a simulator and the duo was taking an exam in pilot school, causing the two to be attrited for unsatisfactory performance. Unemployed and out of options, they enroll in Weidermeyer Academy, one of the top stewardess schools in the country. George and Philo get put in a group full of misfits, including a lady wrestler whose fiancé got cold feet, a frumpy overweight girl, an ex-prostitute whose

probation officer A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...

arranged for her to enroll in Weidermeyer as part of a work-release program, a gay man, and an extremely clumsy woman. The group has standard classes about emergencies, etiquette, and

antiterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

, which they work through. Also as part of a test is a full-sized replica of an airplane with people to wait on, and some difficult people are selected such as a bratty little kid, a group of

middle age In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

d drunks, and surly ex-

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

player who refuses George's orders not to smoke. The group starts to gel together, with George learning to start applying himself to a career and Philo finding common ground with the "jinx girl" due to his similar eye problems. However, by happenstance, the group gains the ire of the school dean, a matronly martinet who believes all stewardesses to be attractive "flying waitresses", not tough, nerdy, chubby,

promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different Sexual partner, partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as pro ...

, and ''certainly'' not stewards like George and Philo. As she fails to wash them out, she resorts to her secondary plan as she is responsible for jobs. When everyone graduates, stewardesses are given jobs with reputable airlines such as

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

, or

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

, while this entire group has been detailed to Stromboli Air. The group is introduced to their owner, Mr. Stromboli, a kindly immigrant whose airline is on the verge of chapter 11 bankruptcy unless his final flight can prove reputable. The group agrees to work together to make it a profitable flight. Still not content, the school dean has gotten herself assigned to be purser, saying she will oversee them and if Stromboli goes bankrupt, they are doomed to unemployment. The flight is a mixture of ordinary businessmen and a blind people's convention, which starts to run into trouble when an unexpected rain squall hits and a "mad bomber" (in an ironic sense) calmly and quietly sets his plan into motion, drugging the drink of the man sitting next to him with a powerful hallucinogenic, then taking advantage of the turmoil to plant the bomb under a passenger's seat, sneak a gas pellet into the captain's cabin to knock out the pilot, then to the cargo hold to jump out into the sky. Things go from bad to worse as one of the blind men, in an attempt to find the restroom, accidentally lets himself into the captain's cabin and hits the instrument panel with his

white cane A white cane is a device used by many people who are blind or visually impaired. A white cane primarily allows its user to scan their surroundings for obstacles or orientation marks, but is also helpful for onlookers in identifying the user as b ...

. The plane is brought under control by Philo with the help of autopilot, but as his contacts were stepped on and broken earlier, he cannot see well at all. He directs staff to look for missing passengers and they discover the mad bomber is no longer on the plane. Philo correctly suspects he planted a bomb and jumped out of the cargo door, so directs the team to look for it. Kelly discovers the bomb and presents it to the team. The back of the plane is evacuated, then George and Jolean try to disable it before running away when realizing it will detonate. It explodes, blowing a hole in fuselage, causing Jolean to be sucked back. The width of her backside was sufficient to plug the hole perfectly and the plane remains in flight. Back in the cockpit, Philo is given binoculars which he turns around the other way and can see the instruments perfectly, allowing him to land the plane. The film ends with a court case where the fate of the stewardesses and airline are on trial. The undercover evaluator onboard turned out to be the passenger beside the mad bomber who was drugged and received a blow job from Sugar Dubois to calm him down. He states that it was the best flight of his life and the case is dismissed resulting in celebrations all round.

Cast

as Philo Henderson *

as George Bunkle * Mary Cadorette as Kelly Johnson *

Judy Landers Judy Landers (born October 7, 1958) is an American film and television actress. Early years Landers is the daughter of Ruth Landers, and is the younger sister of actress Audrey Landers. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. C ...

as Sugar Dubois *

Sandahl Bergman Sandahl Bergman is an American actress and dancer. She is best known for her role as Valeria in the film ''Conan the Barbarian'' (1982), for which she won a Golden Globe and a Saturn Award. Early life Bergman was born in Kansas City, Mis ...

as Wanda Polanski *

Wendie Jo Sperber Wendie Jo Sperber (September 15, 1958 – November 29, 2005) was an American actress, known for her performances in the films ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand'' (1978), ''Bachelor Party'' (1984), and ''Back to the Future'' (1985), as well as the telev ...

as Jolean Winters *

Julia Montgomery Julia Montgomery (born July 2, 1960) is an American film and television actress. She first gained public attention for her role as Samantha Vernon on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1977–1980). She subsequently appeared in the slasher film ...

as Pimmie Polk *

Dennis Burkley Dennis Henry Burkley (September 10, 1945 – July 14, 2013) was an American actor. In a career spanning four decades, he appeared in numerous films and television series. He was best known for his role as Theo in Son in Law. Early life Burkley ...

as Snake *

Corinne Bohrer Corinne Bohrer (born October 18, 1958) is an American film and television actress whose career has continued uninterrupted for four decades and includes regular roles in eight primetime series produced between 1984 and 2015: '' E/R'' (1984–8 ...

as Cindy Adams *

as Larry Falkwell *

Vito Scotti Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...

as Carl Stromboli *

William Bogert William Bogert (January 24, 1936 – January 12, 2020) was an American character actor best known for his roles as Brandon Brindle on the TV series ''Small Wonder'' from 1985 to 1989, Kent Wallace, the host of ''Chappelle's Show''s '' Frontline' ...

as Roger Weidermeyer * Vicki Frederick as Miss Grummet *

Alan Rosenberg Alan Rosenberg (born October 4, 1950) is an American actor. Rosenberg is perhaps best known for his character Eli Levinson which appeared in both the series ''Civil Wars'' and the popular ''L.A. Law''. From 2005 to 2009, he was president of the S ...

as Mad Bomber *

Sherman Hemsley Sherman Alexander Hemsley (February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series ''All in the Family'' (1973–1975; 1978) and ''The Jeffersons'' (1975–1985), Deac ...

as Mr. Buttersworth * Tim Hoskins as Boy *

Richard Erdman Richard Erdman ( John Richard Erdmann; June 1, 1925 – March 16, 2019) was an American character actor and occasional film and television director. He appeared in more than 160 films and television productions between 1944 and 2017, mostly in ...

as Attorney

References

External links

* * *{{rotten-tomatoes, id=stewardess_school, title=Stewardess School 1980s sex comedy films 1986 films American aviation films Columbia Pictures films Films about flight attendants Films scored by Robert Folk Teen sex comedy films 1986 directorial debut films 1986 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films