So I'm scanning the Dollar DVD Rack one afternoon at Wal-Mart, wondering what offerings it might have for me...the title "Rough Air" jumps out at me. An obviously made-for-TV air disaster movie starring Eric Roberts (Julia's ne'er-do-well brother) and Alexandra Paul (of "Baywatch" fame, though to me she'll always be "The Virgin Connie Swail" from "Dragnet")? This DVD cover even has the audacity to rip off the tag line from "Alien," saying "At 30,000 Feet, No One Can Hear You Scream!" SOLD! A few nights later I give "Rough Air" a spin and y'know what? It's actually a decent (although totally unoriginal) flick, but I couldn't help noticing its similarity to the classic disaster-film parody "Airplane!" In fact, it almost seems as if "Rough Air's" screenwriters took the basic plot of "Airplane" and decided to make their own non-humorous version out of it. The two major characters are the disgraced pilot (Roberts) whose last flight ended in disaster, and his estranged stewardess girlfriend, both of whom end up on the same plane when mid-air disaster strikes and the pilots are incapacitated. Of course, Roberts is the only other person on board who can fly a plane, so it's up to him to get everyone back on the ground safely. When Stewardess Ex-Girlfriend is asked to help out in the co-pilot's seat, I immediately had flash backs to Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty landing the doomed airliner in "Airplane" while trading sight gags and one liners with Lloyd Bridges in the control tower, but they keep things on the straight and narrow in "Rough Air." (I kept waiting for them to inflate "OTTO" the automatic pilot, but no such luck.) Do you even have to ask if they'll fall back in love again by the time the plane lands? :) "Rough Air" was an entertaining enough diversion for a rainy evening. If air disaster movies are your thing, it's worth the dollar. For the casual viewer, you can do a lot worse.