Jim Abrahams, director of cult American comedies, has died

“Is there a pilot on the plane?”, “Top Secret!”, “Hot Shots!”… With brothers David and Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams gave a boost to comedy cinema in the 1980s -1990. The “A” of “ZAZ” died at the age of 80.

«Joey, have you ever seen a naked man? Have you ever been to a gym? […] Do you like gladiator movies? […] Have you ever visited a Turkish prison? » Anyone who cried with laughter at the scenes (politically very incorrect today…) of Is there a pilot on the plane? (1980) during which Peter Graves, alias Commander Oveur (Havoux in VF), discusses in an “equivocal” manner with a little passenger, can only be moved by the announcement of the death, at 80 years old, of Jim Abrahams. With brothers David and Jerry Zucker, his acolytes from “ZAZ” (he was the “A”), the screenwriter and director indeed gave a life-saving boost to American comedy cinema of the 1980s and 1990s.

The three lunatics, whose respective fathers were office colleagues, had known each other since childhood, having worn out their pants in the same high school and the same synagogue in the small town of Shorewood, Wisconsin. It was at the state university that, in 1971, they founded the Kentucky Fried Theater, where they alternated improvised sketches on stage and filmed parodies of commercials and TV shows. The success was such that the ZAZ decided to export the formula to Los Angeles where they asked a director as young as themselves, a certain John Landis, to shoot their first screenplay. The cardboard in 1977 of The Kentucky Fried Movie (Hamburger movie sandwich in “good” French) opens the doors to Hollywood for them.

The “ZAZ touch”

The Paramount studio, which intends to ride the trend for high-altitude disaster films, accepts their proposal to shoot a satirical remake of At zero hour, an obscure story from 1957 in which, thanks to an unintentionally self-parodic scenario, Dana Andrews plays a veteran traumatized by the Korean War forced to take the controls of an airliner following the food poisoning of the Korean War. 'crew. Is there a pilot on the plane? marks the official debut of the ZAZ touch, as defined by Stefano Darchino, programmer at the Cinémathèque française: “a blend of sophisticated visual humor and low-brow comedy” et “a very high rate of gags, combined with a skilful use of staging”.

This nonsensical and supercharged humor gives its full measure in Top Secret! (1984), officially directed by David Zucker alone but well written and shot in symbiosis by the three ZAZs (Paramount being reluctant to sign three production contracts for a single film). This time, it's the war films that take their place, with the story of a rock star (Val Kilmer as a young boy) invited to perform behind the Iron Curtain. The film is so crazy that, this time, the public does not follow it.

Success returned in 1986 with the black comedy Is there anyone to kill my wife?then in 1988 thanks to Is there a cop to save the queen? in which Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers adapt Police Squad, their own detective series aired in 1982 on ABC – with Leslie Nielsen as Lt. Frank Drebin. This detective, as useless and blundering as Inspector Clouseau, will continue to work hard to try to save “the president” (in 1991) then “Hollywood” (in 1994), under the respective directions of David Zucker and Peter Segal. Jim Abrahams, for his part, will produce two final comic nuggets solo with Hot Shots! (1991) et Hot Shots! 2 (1993). The first brilliantly ridicules Top Gun and the second, barely less funny, the Rambo…