“Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking.”
This is the initialization of a recurring motif by McCroskey that slowly charters his psychological and moral deterioration. At the same time, it is also a commentary on the amount of stress involved in the job of controlling air traffic.
“I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.”
This is perhaps the most enduring single comedic moment in the film. It is also an iconic example of how so much of the dialogue that is funny in the parody is lifted straight out of the serious precursor Zero Hour! In that film, one character does say to another, “Surely, you can’t be serious” and the reply is simply “I am serious.” The exact same set-up gets the exact same response here, but with a little tweak at the end that changes everything. “Don’t call me Shirley” is essentially the template for the comedic foundation of the film.
“You ever seen a grown man naked?”
Somewhat like “don’t call me Shirley” but even more to the point is the laugh foundation for this line. The actor speaking the line is Peter Graves, who was always known up to this point as an actor who played straight-laced, heroic figures of protective quality. And here he is playing a pedophile. While pedophilia is not funny, of course, the seriousness which underlines the humor here is important: don’t judge a book by its cover.
“Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking.”
McCroskey’s deterioration reaches another level here, but not one terribly far removed from his smoking habit. Oh, let’s be honest: his smoking addiction. More to come.
“And Leon’s getting laaaaaarger.”
All the other actors were told to play their scenes as if they were making a dramatic film. Stephen Stucker is the only actor who appears to realize he is making a comedy. This is necessary function of the film’s comedy as Johnny’s “awareness” reminds the audience in an ironically subtle way that of what exactly is going on here. Without Johnny’s over-the-edge comedic self-awareness, the film lacks context within its subtext of being a commentary on how just how slim and razor-sharp the edge between drama and comedy actually is. Well, either that or Johnny exists to just to show that every workplace has its joker.
“Don’t be so naïve, Arthur. Each of us faces a clear moral choice.”
Of course, these words are not spoken. This is the subtitled translation of the “jive talk” of one of the black passengers. The funny thing here is more subconscious than conscious. The audience laughs at the juxtaposition of English language words being spoken with English language translation, but beneath that is a far more profound type of humor: audiences who do not speak the native language of a subtitled film are forced to accept that the translation in the subtitle is accurate. But is it always?
“Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines.”
It is notable that the drug which takes things to the next level here is speed. Because though McCroskey’s mental spiral is just about out of control, he’s still connected to his high stress job; a job which many of those who actually do the work quite likely depend upon amphetamines to do. But he’s clearly near the breaking point by this quote and all that's left is go soaring over the edge when he finally admits to sniffing glue.
