I Picked The Wrong Week To Quit Yuban!

This week on Reel Beans, we’re cruising at 30,000 feet through one of the greatest parodies ever made — Airplane! (1980). We explore why its rapid-fire humor still lands, how parody is far more difficult than it looks, why serious actors made it even funnier, and how certain jokes hit differently today.

We also sip on Yuban coffee — the iconic store-bought brew that landed a cameo in the film itself. Nostalgic? Yes. Strong? Absolutely. Fancy? Not even close — and that’s exactly the point.

✈️ Watch the Films

Airplane! (1980) https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/airplane

Zero Hour! (1957) (the film Airplane! directly spoofed) https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/zero-hour-1957

Airport (1970) https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/airport

Airport 1975 (1974) https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/airport-75

Saturday Night Fever (1977) https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/saturday-night-fever

From Here to Eternity (1953) https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/from-here-to-eternity

☕ Coffee Pairing: Yuban Coffee

In honor of Airplane!, we brewed Yuban — the coffee behind one of the film’s most famous domestic parodies. Walter never has a second cup at home? Well, let’s see how Yuban holds up today.

Buy Yuban Coffee:

• Official Yuban Website https://theyuban.com

• Yuban Traditional Medium Roast (43oz) https://www.shelhealth.com/products/yuban-traditional-medium-roast-ground-coffee-43-1-oz?variant=46711682171112

• Yuban Traditional Medium Roast K-Cup Pods (24 count) https://groceryeshop.us/products/yuban-k-cups-traditional-medium-roast-coffee-pods-24-count?variant=50043125530941

Upcoming Coffee for Next Episode:

• Stumptown Hair Bender Blend (for Desk Set episode) https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/products/hair-bender?variant=40006908936360

📚 Sources Cited

• The Guardian — “Airplane! at 40: the best spoof comedy ever made?” https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jul/02/airplane-at-40-the-best-spoof-comedy-ever-made

• Library of Congress — Airplane! National Film Registry Essay https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/airplane-1980

• MyCoffeeBeans.net — Yuban Coffee History https://mycoffeebeans.net/yuban-coffee-history/

• The Brew Adventures — “Is pre-ground coffee that bad?” https://www.thebrewadventures.com

• The Spruce Eats — “How to store ground coffee and maintain flavor” https://www.thespruceeats.com

• Hermanos Coffee Roasters — Grinding coffee: burr grinders & brewing tips https://www.hermanoscoffeeroasters.com

• Thrillist — “We taste-tested every canned coffee brand so you don’t have to” https://www.thrillist.com

• Reddit: r/Coffee, r/Movies, r/CoffeeSnobs — community reflections on Yuban, parody, and nostalgia.

🔔 Subscribe & Follow

Be sure to subscribe to Reel Beans wherever you get your podcasts, and follow along for more cozy coffee & film pairings:

🌐 https://reelbeans.com 📸 https://www.instagram.com/reel_beans 🎥 https://www.youtube.com/@reelbeans

Next episode teaser: We’re heading into the world of Desk Set — big computers, bigger egos, and Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy at their finest. Brew up some Hair Bender and join me next week!

Episode Transcript

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Reel Beans \'96 Episode 5 (00:03):
I Pick The Wrong Week To Quit Yuban!
June 17, 2025
"A man asks for a second cup of coffee\'85 and a marriage unravels. A war hero flashbacks to a disco floor. A child offers coffee with the confidence of a CEO. And somewhere in the chaos, someone definitely picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."
This week on Reel Beans, we\'92re diving nose-first into one of the most quotable, outrageous, and surprisingly layered comedies ever made:
Airplane!
We\'92ll talk about what makes this 1980 spoof still soar in 2025, how parody is harder than it looks, and why casting serious actors in ridiculous roles might just be comedic genius. We\'92ll also brew up a nostalgic cup of Yuban Coffee, the kind that sparks memories at the breakfast table.
Stick around for absurd humor, sharp wit, and maybe even a cameo from Ethel Merman. This episode is for anyone who\'92s ever taken their coffee black\'85
(Opening Clip)
"Shaina, they bought their tickets. They knew what they were getting into... I say let 'em crash!"

Main Segment (00:12):
Fasten Your Sip Belts \'96 A Love Letter to
Airplane!
I'll be honest:
Airplane!
might be one of the most quoted films of all time\'97and I\'92m absolutely guilty of keeping that tradition alive. My dad, my brother, and I still trade lines from it like currency. \'93Don\'92t call me Shirley.\'94 \'93Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit\'85\'94 [fill in your vice]. My brother and I, especially, speak in full scenes like we\'92re performing a revival of the movie. It\'92s part of our shorthand. And
Airplane!
never fails to make me chuckle.
But why does it work? It\'92s relentless. Jokes fly by faster than Otto, the automatic pilot. Blink, and you\'92ve missed three. Sometimes, you\'92re laughing so hard, you miss an even better punchline seconds later. Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker engineered a joke-per-minute machine.
The film spoofs more than just one thing. It borrows heavily from
Zero Hour!
(1957), but also pokes fun at 1970s disaster films like
Airport
, commercials like the infamous Yuban Coffee ad (\'93Walter never has a second cup at home\'94), news commentary, gender roles, and even kids in adult situations. It\'92s cultural absurdity wrapped in chaos.
Sure, some jokes are crude, but the pace is so fast you\'92re quickly onto the next one. That said, there are jokes that haven\'92t aged well. There are jokes at the expense of women, various cultures, gay men, and nuns. But the film punches everywhere \'97 not just down \'97 and that\'92s part of its charm.

One of the film\'92s strokes of genius is casting dramatic leading men from the '50s and '60s (00:26):
Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, and Robert Stack. Their dead-serious delivery makes it even funnier. Nielsen, especially, went on to become a comedy icon after this, with
The Naked Gun
trilogy. (I\'92ve got a soft spot for
33 1/3.
) While some later attempts like
Mr. Magoo
fell flat, Nielsen still managed to deliver those classic moments that remind you why he was the king of deadpan.
At the center of all the madness is the sweet romantic plot between Ted Striker and Elaine Dickinson (Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty), whose relationship is on the rocks due to Ted\'92s war PTSD. The flashbacks\'97Saturday Night Fever-style disco dancing, jungle missionary work, and a hospital montage with Ethel Merman\'97are some of the best parts.
(Add clip of Ethel singing.)
Some of my favorite scenes are the smaller throwaways. Like the Counter Point TV commentator saying, \'93Let 'em crash!\'94 Dark, yet perfectly mocking sensationalist media. Or the two kids having coffee\'97one says, \'93No thank you, I take it black\'85 like my men.\'94 Inappropriate? Yes. But the deadpan delivery makes it unforgettable.
Then there\'92s Johnny, played hilariously by Steve Stucker, likely the most quotable character in the film:
"There\'92s a sale at Penny\'92s!"
And Lloyd Bridges\'92 escalating stress:
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking... drinking... amphetamines... sniffing glue."
Even Robert Stack\'92s karate-chopping his way through airport evangelists is comedy gold.
Now,
Airplane!
has its controversies, like the infamous \'93jive\'94 scene. Personally, I don\'92t see it as malicious, but it\'92s not my place to judge its impact. What\'92s worth noting is that Al White and Norman Alexander Gibbs, who played the characters, reworked and improvised the scene themselves. The filmmakers cast them immediately and let them reshape the moment. It\'92s a great example of creators listening to performers who actually live those experiences.
Parody\'92s Tough Crowd
Since
Airplane!

(00:47):
, very few parodies have succeeded. Films like
Hot Shots
,
Top Secret
,
Austin Powers
, and Mel Brooks classics managed to do it right. Even the first
Scary Movie
had its moments. But too often, parodies have become lazy, relying on pop culture references instead of sharp satire (
Epic Movie
,
Meet the Spartans
anyone?).
Airplane!

stands out because it\'92s tightly written \'97 so much so that it was even nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for its screenplay. And audiences showed up for it (01:01):
$6 million in its first five days in 1980\'97over $15 million today.
There was a sequel,

Airplane II (01:03):
The Sequel
, which took the comedy into space without ZAZ\'92s involvement. It\'92s not as good but still worth a watch, especially for William Shatner\'92s scene-stealing moments.
Legacy
I\'92ve seen
Airplane!
over 20 times and it still holds up in 2025. Some jokes feel dated, some sting a little more today, but it\'92s still hilarious. That\'92s because everyone involved fully committed to the bit\'97even the unnamed extras.
If you\'92re new to the film or want to dive into what it parodied, here\'92s your watchlist:
Zero Hour!
Airport (1970)
Airport 1975
Saturday Night Fever
From Here to Eternity
You may cringe at some parts, but you\'92ll laugh at most \'97 and be reminded that sometimes, you just have to laugh at yourself to survive the long flight.
Airplane!
is available to stream on Amazon Prime and available for rent on Apple TV.
(Music intro to Coffee Corner with quote from
Airplane!
)

Coffee Corner (01:21):
Yuban \'97 Bold, Biting, and a Bit Stubborn
Let\'92s talk about Yuban \'97 a name that\'92s been in American kitchens for over a century.
Founded in 1906 by John Arbuckle, Yuban was marketed as premium canned coffee, highlighting 100% Colombian beans long before specialty coffee became trendy.
Its most famous pop culture moment?
"Walter never has a second cup at home\'85"
That ad stuck, and
Airplane!
perfectly spoofed it.

Naturally, I brewed up some Yuban using my Aiden Fellow drip coffee maker. The results? Mixed. First cup (01:29):
too weak. Second cup
Yuban is designed for predictable consistency. No grinder, no measuring. Scoop, pour, brew. For many people, that\'92s all they want at 7AM.
Grinding your own beans requires equipment, knowledge, and storage. Yuban skips that. As one Redditor put it:
"Maybe it\'92s a nostalgia/familiarity thing too."
Flavor-wise? Chicory and woodsy notes, deep roast with bite. If consumed within a week of opening, the difference from fresh-ground beans might not even be noticeable. Even publications like
Thrillist
found brands like Maxwell House and Yuban hold up surprisingly well in blind tests.
While freshly ground beans offer more flavor, there\'92s nothing wrong with being pragmatic. Yuban hits the sweet spot:
predictable, reliable, affordable.
Like a good parody\'97or a classic comedy routine that never quits.
Yuban is available at most grocery stores, Target, and Amazon.
Next Time on
Reel Beans
Next time, we\'92re going back to an era where computers filled entire rooms, but human nature still ruled communication. We\'92ll spotlight one of the greatest duos ever:
Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy
in
Desk Set
. And our coffee pairing?
Hair Bender by Stumptown
\'97 bold, complex, perfect for a film about love and logic.
Thanks for Listening

(01:50):
Thank you for spending time with me on
Reel Beans
. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share with fellow film and coffee lovers\'97it helps this cozy community grow.
Visit:
Support:
Until next time:
Keep sipping. Stay curious. And don\'92t call me Shirley.