What makes a good airplane movie? Less sex, more clear dialogue

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Not all movies work at cruising altitude. If you're traveling for the holidays, here's what NPR's pop culture critics suggest to make the time fly by. / AP

You know the feeling: the pilot announces that you've hit cruising altitude. You turn on a movie, and just as someone on screen peels their clothes off or starts spewing blood, a flight attendant comes by to offer you peanuts or pretzels, and you realize that you've made a very, very bad choice.

Picking the perfect airplane movie is no easy task, but the hosts of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour are here to help. Here's what they recommend watching on your next flight – and what they look for when they're picking out viewing material.

Linda Holmes' pick: The Holdovers (2023)

The reasoning: I think airplanes are best suited to smaller-scale stories – stories about people, stories where faces and voices move the plot forward and give the tale its shape. The Holdovers, from 2023, is one of my favorite films of the past few years, beginning with its trio of fabulous central performances.

Paul Giamatti has never been better than he is as a curmudgeonly teacher who ends up supervising a student over holiday break at a boarding school. Dominic Sessa, a newcomer found in his high school theater program, is just fabulous as the student whose family doesn't show up for him – but whose teachers perhaps will. And Da'Vine Joy Randolph brings great heart and humor to the role of the kitchen manager grieving her own son, a former student. It's a wonderful movie, your experience won't be harmed if you have to get up to let somebody use the restroom in the middle, and if you happen to be traveling over the holidays, its snowy setting will hit the spot.

Glen Weldon's pick: The Lion in Winter (1968)

The reasoning: What to avoid in airplane films: sex scenes, gnarly violence, plane crashes (duh), visual spectacle (special effects, sweeping vistas, elaborate choreography), and scenes taking place at night (unless you want to see your own dumb face staring back at you from a deeply unflattering angle all the way to Fort Wayne).

What to look for instead: Any film that's ever been dinged as "too stagy," because that means its focus is exactly where you need it to be for maximum in-flight appreciation — on its dialogue. Enter: 1968's The Lion in Winter. Katharine Hepburn is Eleanor of Aquitaine. Peter O'Toole is King Henry II. It's Christmas Eve, 1183. They argue over who'll inherit the throne for a blissful 2 hours and 14 minutes (that's DC to Chicago, baby!) The badinage is crisp, witty and waspish — and it never stops flowing.

Aisha Harris' pick: Jackie Brown (1997)

The reasoning: I have flying anxiety, so I need a movie that I've already seen, for the comfort of familiarity; isn't too visually stunning, because of the small screen; and is at least 2 hours long, preferably longer. And I love a good heist, which makes Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown perfect for a plane ride.

It's got a stellar ensemble led by Pam Grier (as a flight attendant, natch), Samuel L. Jackson, and Robert Forster; amazing outfits, a killer soundtrack, and double-crossing and fake-outs galore. Sure, there are tons of f-bombs and – less forgivably – n-words strewn throughout. But that's the one good thing about being on an airplane: Headphones!

Stephen Thompson's pick: Moana (2016)

The reasoning: My preflight checklist, movie-wise, requires that any film be bright and colorful enough to enjoy on a small screen; have clear and plainly audible dialogue, free of Tom Hardy-style mumblecore; no sex scenes or grisly violence that might traumatize children or prudes peeking over my shoulder; and nothing so wrenchingly emotional that I'll sob more than I usually do at any given moment.

Therefore, my perfect, checks-all-the-boxes pick is the 2016 Disney animated musical Moana, which is moving but not too moving, brightly lit, easy to follow, fun for everyone and otherwise just right for making the time fly by.

This piece also appeared in NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what's making us happy.

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