The in-flight movie is a minor luxury given to passengers that can help idle away time, especially in a crowded plane when you’re sitting in the middle of the aisle or squished beside someone else. No one ever sees their favorite movie of all time on a plane; the cinema on offer is usually meant to be inoffensive popcorn fodder for the masses to idle away the hours until they move on to better things.
Yet, to the joy of some, though likely the cringe horror of many, one airline, Australia’s Qantas, shocked many passengers when they showed the controversial film Daddio as the in-flight movie. Due to a technical problem, only one movie could be shown; it played on the screen for every single seat, and passengers were unable to turn the screen off or even dim it. Personally, the looks of horror on some passengers’ faces would have made it one of the more memorable flights in a history of rather dull travels. Still, 2024’s Daddio is far removed from the usual midair offerings; it certainly made the nine-and-a-half-hour Qantas flight from Sydney to Tokyo an awkward trip for many.
Dakota Johnson & Sean Penn’s ‘Daddio’ Shocked Passengers
Daddio
3.5
/5
- Release Date
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June 28, 2024
- Runtime
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101 Minutes
- Director
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Christy Hall
- Writers
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Christy Hall
Already not the ideal film for an in-flight movie, Daddio‘s premise takes place in a long cab ride with a young woman, Girlie (Dakota Johnson), who engages in an unexpectedly honest and intimate conversation with her cab driver, Clark (Sean Penn). A traffic accident causes them to be stuck together for a long time, and they begin to open up a discussion about their relationships, their sex lives, power dynamics, and loss. The film is rated R for profanity, sexual material, and graphic nudity.
Based on the stage play of the same name, the movie marked Christy Hall’s directorial debut. Daddio is one of those productions where the theatrical origins are apparent, with its single setting and focus on dialogue becoming essential to the story. Along with its isolated setting, the framing of being stuck in a vehicle around the premise of a crash, and its likelihood of being pretentious to a casual audience, Daddio dwells on some uncomfortable conversations. While the nudity is brief — a picture of a penis and exposed breasts shown on a phone screen — the dialogue is where Daddio is most charged with in-depth conversations around sexual acts, affairs, and a focus on exploring “Daddy Issues” when it comes to partner preference.
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Little Timmy would probably have preferred Transformers: The Last Knight instead of having an awkward conversation with his parents over a nine-hour-plus flight. Still, even adults on the flight took issue with the film’s content and complained, with most aware that it was not an ideal choice for a public space, particularly on a flight. The only way it could have been more awkward is if the airline confused Paul Haggis’ Crash and accidentally screened David Cronenberg’s controversial erotic crash-fetishist movie of the same name.
Airline Apologizes for Showing ‘Daddio’
A spokesperson for Qantas Airlines would end up apologizing for the showing of Daddio in a statement to USA Today, saying, “Our cabin crew apologized to customers in-flight, particularly those who had complained about the content,” adding “The movie was clearly not suitable to play for the whole flight and we sincerely apologize to customers for this experience.”
After complaints were launched during the flight, the crew figured out how to change the movie after about an hour to something more family-friendly. Oddly, several passengers decided on the film through a vote, and Daddio was made the only viewing option for everyone on the plane. Though it is not a case of trolling, one has to wonder why so many people voted for it in the first place (maybe it was just the star power of Sean Penn). Why the movie was even in rotation in the first place was also not disclosed, but one can imagine that Qantas changed its screening process for selecting films after the incident. If you aren’t flying Qantas, you can stream Daddio on Netflix through the link below, and check out the trailer as well:
