PINCH HITTING FOR PEDRO BORBON, MANNY MOTA ... MOTA ... MOTA ... Perhaps no movie influenced my sense of humor, and the way I thought about what was funny growing up than did Airplane!, about which Matt Zoller Seitz has much to say in Sunday's NYT upon its 30th anniversary. This was the film that taught me just how far one could leap from point to point to make a joke, that nothing was off-limits, and as I grew up I realized just how much that film demonstrates in terms of the importance of tone in delivering a joke. A good deadpan can sell anything, and this is a rich film from which I'm still noticing new things with each fresh viewing.

One way to recognize just how good Airplane! was? Think about how many crappy movies were made in its wake along the same lines which didn't work nearly as well. Surely you can think of a few.

I LOVE VODKA. I'M NOT COOKING WITH IT! Top Chef DC -- as lousy as the word "bipartisandwich" was -- got immediately more awesome this week with the Healthy School Lunch challenge, combining smart limitations, stoopid decisionmaking (Sherry? Two pounds of sugar?), a Stefan-level domination and some of the first real strategery (however long-term misguided) we've ever seen on the show. I'll admit it: good cooking's not enough; I like a season which brings the drama too.

THE TWO KIDS AND THEIR FATHER -- THEY'RE DEAD, AND THEY'RE IN PURGATORY, AND HE'S TELLING THE STORY FOR ETERNITY: Head on over to GQ for a great interview with the likeable and bright Jason Segel, who really did write a puppet vampire musical.

WE ARE AMERICAN AND WE DO NOT APOLOGIZE FOR INACCURATE TITLES: Are you excited yet for tomorrow's Ghana match? Watch this and get back to me:

WHO WILL STAND UP FOR SIMON SNYDER? In exchange for $3.4M over five years, SEPTA will rename the southernmost stop on the Philadelphia's Broad Street Line -- the exit for the football, baseball, and basketball/hockey venues at the corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue -- from Pattison Station to the [The Service Provider for the iPhone] Station.

Robert Emory Pattison served as Philadelphia's City Controller and two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania in the late 19th Century, driven to an early grave at the age of 53 from the debilitating effects of a third statewide campaign for the office in 1902. He ought not be replaced in this City's consciousness by a company no one likes. [Tastykake Station, however? Sure.]

A LAZY, FLACCID, COMPLACENT, LIFELESS DUD OF AN EGO-TRIP MASQUERADING AS AN ALLEGED SUMMER COMEDY.: Our friend Dan Fienberg did not care for "Grown Ups":

"Grown Ups" is the least funny theatrical release that any of its stars have ever been a part of.

I just want to let that sink in, because Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider have combined to be in some truly unfunny movies.

But I did love this line:

Because I'm a fair and even-handed reviewer, I have to give a little credit where it's due: Tim Meadows pops up in the third act and his first line of dialogue led to the only time I laughed out loud in the entire movie. That may be the equivalent of bunting in the ninth inning to break up a perfect game or it may be an achievement. Either way, kudos Tim Meadows.

[He was great in "Mean Girls," great in "Walk Hard" -- why doesn't he work more often?]

The AV Club's Scott Tobias claims that the film "betray[s] the toxic arrogance of coasting comic superstars who realize they can exert the least possible effort and still come away with a hit." Its current Rotten Tomatoes score is 13%** -- in other words, it's as bad as "500 Days of Summer" and "Superbad" were deemed good on the Tomatometer. Wow.

**Since I drafted this, now down to 9% -- as bad as "Crazy Heart," "There Will Be Blood" and "Frost/Nixon" were deemed good. The NYT's Stephen Holden calls it "lazy, mean-spirited, incoherent, infantile and, above all, witless."

WHAT HATH T-PAIN WROUGHT: Apparently, Jeopardy! last night featured a category called "Alex Meets Auto-Tune." Let's go to the videotape, shall we?