‘The Big Bus’ or — Spoof Positive.

Q/ What do you get if you combine ‘Airplane’, ‘Speed’, ‘The Right Stuff’, every 70s disaster movie, ‘The China Syndrome’, ‘Speed Racer’ and the American public transport system?
A/ One of the funniest films ever made!
I hadn’t seen ‘The Big Bus’ in years when my friends invited me round to watch it again last night. I couldn’t recall any of the gags and could only remember the central premise — that it was set aboard a nuclear-powered bus and was a parody of disaster films, that it was a spoof of all the 70s disaster epics, taking the tropes and sending them up. Hmmm, sound familiar?
Released in 1976 ‘The Big Bus’ soon became completely overshadowed when a certain film called ‘Airplane’ (1980) came along, simultaneously stealing its thunder and making it (and many other comedies) look old-fashioned at the same time. But here’s the thing — ‘The Big Bus’ just might be the better movie.
Set on-board Cyclops, the world’s first nuclear-powered bus, the movie follows the vehicle’s crew and passengers on its maiden non-stop voyage from New York to Denver. The bus is massive containing a bar, swimming pool, bowling alley and wide range of colourful passengers (including a disgraced veterinarian who was fired for fitting a rabbit with the coil). However, an evil oil Tycoon called ‘Iron Man’ is determined to discredit the bus so has his henchman brother plant a time-bomb on board.
The nuclear-powered bus blasts off, smashing the “wind-barrier” easily. Yet, just as Cyclops reaches maximum speed the bomb explodes, damaging its sensitive and elaborate systems. Unable to slow down the now unstoppable bus hurtles its way across America. Can the crew save the passengers and themselves? Will the entire profession of bus driving be discredited forever? Will ‘Iron Man’ succeed with his dastardly plan? Climb on board and find out!
Sweet Jesus, this film is funny as hell and yes, this movie could sue the makers of ‘Airplane’. Now don’t get me wrong; ‘Airplane’ is a great film but original it ain’t. In fact, there’s a very simple formula you can use to create ‘Airplane’: take ‘The Big Bus’, ‘Hellzapoppin’’, ‘Airport’, every old gag you can think of, some stunt casting and viola! You have ‘Airplane’. It’s a fantastic film but can, sometimes, feel very much like a joke-machine relentlessly firing gags at you.
Whereas there’s more originality and heart under the hood of ‘The Big Bus’. Sure, it still has a very high joke ratio but it also has enough flexibility to allow for some genuinely strong character interplay and a story where, in the end, you genuinely care what happens (for a spoof comedy). It’s more robust as a movie and the gags feel more embedded into the fabric of the story rather than sprinkled over. This meant that when the gags did land (and nearly all did) they landed hard. The sequence when the bus breaks the wind barrier, shattering petrol station and car windows as it blasts across the landscape, is almost too funny for words. I’m still giggling about it today.
It’s also very nicely directed with some skilfully inventive moments as well as achieving that trick so many comedies sometimes fail to maintain — the delicate balance between the “believable” and the totally stupid. David Shire complements all this with a seriously strong score, pre-empting Michael Giacchino’s joyously propulsive soundtrack for ‘Speed Racer’. The sound-design is also muscular as hell with every blast and roar of the nuclear engine just adding to the craziness.
And craziness is an appropriate word for ‘The Big Bus’ as despite being more self-controlled and (maybe) better constructed than ‘Airplane’ it also feels more silly, even more anarchic. A perfect example is when “Shoulders” O’Brien, during a bar fight, picks up a cardboard milk carton and smashes it in half against the bar-top, or when a priest played by Rene Auberjonios asks Ruth Gordon where her God is now because she didn’t get the window seat. Or when the nuclear fuel-rod fails to go into the container so Ned Beatty uses his handkerchief to… I’ll stop as there are too many examples to list.
‘The Big Bus’ is wonderful, an absolute delight of a film and not only is it seriously funny but it is loaded with charm. If you’ve never seen it, or if you’ve maybe seen ‘Airplane’ a few too many times and could do with some fresh and different gags, then this is a trip you should definitely take.