Spaceballs |
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 • USA • 1987 • 96m •   • Directed by: Mel Brooks. • Starring: Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, George Wyner, Michael Winslow, Joan Rivers, Lorene Yarnell Jansson, John Hurt, Sal Viscuso, Ronny Graham. • Music by: John Morris.      King Roland of the planet Druidia is trying to marry his daughter Princess Vespa to Prince Valium, but Vespa is kidnapped by the evil race of the Spaceballs. The Spaceballs ask Roland a tremendous ransom: all the air of Druidia (you see, the air of Spaceball had serious pollution problems...). The King decides to offer a generous amount of money to a space rogue, Lone Star, to persuade him to save Vespa.
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Review:
One of his later films, the wild and wacky Sci-Fi parody "Spaceballs", has gone on to become something of a cult classic. Not as massive a hit as his other movies at initial release, the film went on to earn a second life on home video and cable airings, later solidifying it as another strong win for Brooks. And this is of course thanks to his trademark humor and the very likable performances of the excellent cast. Focused primarily on lampooning the cultural phenomena that was George Lucas' "Star Wars" along with a smattering of other clever tie-ins to famous and timeless Sci-Fi properties, "Spaceballs" is a fine example of parody done right... something particularly admirable with today's trend in so-called "parodies" being little more than cheap and instantly-dated affairs that trade nonsensical references for true gags.
Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) and the incompetent President Skroob (Brooks) of the villainous Planet Spaceball hatch a plan to kidnap Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga). Their goal: To use her as a bargaining chip to suck all of the fresh air off her peaceful Planet Druidia, having squandered their own supply. Dashing mercenary Lone Star (Bill Pullman) and his half-canine, half-man sidekick Barf (short for Barfolomew, as portrayed by John Candy) are enlisted to help save the day. Their journey will take them on various misadventures, including meeting master of the mysterious "Schwatz" and merchandising genius Yogut (also portrayed by Brooks) and battling a giant robotic super-weapon known as "Mega Maid."
Brooks' is for the most part at the top of his game, at least as far as humor is concerned. He continues his strong trend of brilliant parody, with his main focus of course being the original "Star Wars" trilogy. Characters are perfect parallels and satires of their counterparts, and there's even a bit of really clever fourth- wall breaking going on. My favorite bit being the character "Yogurt", who not only parodies the famed Frank Oz creation of Yoda, but is also a nice subtle swipe at George Lucas' over- eagerness to capitalize on "Star Wars" through merchandising every product imaginable. Another of the big stand- outs is Moranis' Dark Helmet, a brilliant re-imagining of Darth Vader that takes the iconic villain and re-interprets him as a bratty, pencil-necked geek in an intimidating and over-sized mechanical suit. There's some really funny stuff that goes on with the character and he has some of the best laugh-out-loud moments of the film.
The rest of the cast is similarly wonderful. Pullman makes for a charming and very likable oafish rift on Han Solo. Candy is just perfect as the lovable and kind-hearted goofball that is Barf. Zuniga is appropriately feisty as the dashing Princess. Brooks' dual roles are both outstanding supporting characters that make good use of his dry wit and infectious charm. And other supporting roles by the likes of George Wyner and Dick Van Patton are just a ton of fun. But I gotta give special props to the late and great Joan Rivers, who supplies the voice of trash-talking android Dot Matrix, Vespa's constant companion. Not only a great rift on the duo of C- 3PO and R2-D2, but just a great character in her own right.
That being said, this isn't one of Brooks' very best, and a few points need to be docked for some fairly large faults that hold it back from time to time. This is perhaps the most scattershot and unfocused of Brooks' films, and while it doesn't falter as much as say "Dracula: Dead and Loving It", it still doesn't quite work in a lot of scenes. There's a few too many random references and nonsensical insertions of various other properties, that I found it distracting. For example and without spoiling anything... yes, the "Alien" parody was silly, but it felt out of the blue and unnecessary. A prolonged gag based on "Star Trek" teleporters also felt a bit out of place, especially in the context of which it was used. I also do find that this is where Brooks' humor started a trend in becoming far more hit-and-miss. For every zinger, there's a groaner here. And while it will become more and more amusing on repeated viewings, it just lacks that inherent freshness of his other films as a result of this.
Still, I cannot deny that "Spaceballs" is a great time. There's a ton of fun to be had with its silly premise, fine performances and its clever gags. And while it may not deliver on the promise of his earlier work, Brooks' still shines with his hilarious writing and solid use of parody. It's no "Young Frankenstein"... but it's close enough to make it worth your while.
I give "Spaceballs" a very good 8 out of 10.
Review by MaximumMadness from the Internet Movie Database.
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