

Galaxy Quest (1999)

A Film Review by Mark O'Hara

It's a nice tradition that we have on Christmas Day - seeing a movie.  Last 
year it was the hilarious Irish comedy "Waking Ned Devine."  This year we 
took the kids to "Galay Quest."

If you have heard good reviews about this film, believe them.  Even after 
all of the television series and movies about spaceships and militaristic 
goings-on  in space - and especially after the parodies poking fun at this 
fare - "Galaxy Quest" handles itself with originality.

The film takes off on the groundbreaker of them all, "Star Trek."  The cast 
of the fictional television show "Galaxy Quest" now appears at conventions, 
where ardent fans - many of whom dress up to emulate their favorite 
characters - gather and exchange ideas and spend money.  Tim Allen plays the 
commander of the ship - the William Shatner character.  Allen's name is 
Jason Nesmith, the actor who portrays Commander Peter Quincy Taggart.  
Eighteen years after the show's cancellation, Nesmith is still making money 
from these conventions.  It seems like the entire cast also enjoy the 
benefits of their former stardom.  These players include Sigourney Weaver as 
actress Gwen DeMarco, who plays Lt. Tawny Madison.  Her main role in the 
show, back in the 'seventies and early 'eighties, was to show cleavage, 
along with repeating the computer's pronouncements.  A pretty face.  Tony 
Shalhoub plays Tommy Webber/Tech. Sgt. Chen.  Daryll Mitchell plays Lt. 
Laredo (he was a child when the show was on the air).  Alan Rickman plays 
Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus, and Sam Rockwell plays Crewman #6 in Episode 81. 
  Well, all of these second-rate actors seem to be eking out a living from 
their long-past celebrity.  And they are all fairly disillusioned and bored.

That is, until Nesmith convinces them to go on what they think is a paying 
gig.  They believe these fans dressed as aliens are taking them to another 
guest appearance, so they might hawk autographs and field questions from 
obsessive fans;  quickly they discover their sponsors are actual aliens, a 
race that has studied the television show, believing it to be "historical 
documents."  Ergo, the aliens have constructed virtually everything they 
witnessed onscreen.  With innocent and gleeful faces, they display weapons, 
ships and extensive technology that they have somehow engineered and 
constructed after merely glancing it through the "Quest" transmissions.  
Besides serving as a basic premise for the story, these technologies make 
for a hilarious conceit, as the crew members seem baffled by the science 
they are faced with using.  The aliens, of course, are convinced the actors 
constitute the veteran crew of "Protector," whose motto is the commander's 
catch line, "Never give up; never surrender."  So the washed-up actors 
masquerade as their actual characters, unwilling to disillusion the 
extremely respectful aliens, who have appointed them to helm the embodiment 
of the fictional ship.  It turns out, by the way, that the actors simply 
have to duplicate their actions from the show in order to run the gadgets on 
the real ship.

The bad guys here are a race of green reptilian aggressors, who are 
determined to destroy the good aliens - the Thermians.  The main conflict 
traces the fight with these quasi-reptiles, who are after the Thermian-made 
device called the Omega 13.  Exactly what this device is, no one knows, as 
it was mentioned only vaguely on the T.V. show.  Naturally, Jason Nesmith 
appears completely outclassed by the alien general.  What is fascinating is 
watching all of the riffs and comic twists that result from the numerous 
clichés and conventions set up through the plot.  Will the actors stop their 
petty bickering long enough actually to help their admirers from deep space? 
  Will the rabid fans back on Earth get satisfaction from seeing the next 
appearance of the crew?

The film is well directed by Dean Parisot.  Its pace is quick, lending a 
loose comic tone;  the timing also enhances the many allusions and 
self-reflexive gimmicks.  Parisot capitalizes on countless references to 
ploys frequently spotted in "Star Trek" and similar shows, and even in the 
"Alien" movies, in which Sigourney Weaver starred as Ripley.

Tim Allen's nonchalance is important to his success in the type of double 
role he plays here.  Though he is a hopeless, alcoholic jerk, Nesmith is 
somehow ennobled during his stint as the real Commander Taggart, and earns 
the credit bestowed upon him.  It's Allen's best performance since "The 
Santa Clause."

Weaver does a nice job playing the aging actress portraying Tawny Madison.  
In one scene she snaps at another crew member that, even though her job is 
merely to repeat the computer's words, she will do it with relish.  Weaver 
is best in the subtle comedy resulting from her asides to other crew 
members.

Tony Shalhoub proves his reliability again, showing off his knack for 
excelling at widely different roles.  His Tech Sgt. Chen is an air-headed 
version of Scotty or Geordi or O'Brien or Torres.  The change he undergoes 
is one of the funnier transitions in the film.  One small criticism I have 
is that Daryll Mitchell's character - Tommy Webber as Lt. Laredo - goes 
through a similar change in character.  Here a parody succumbs to the very 
conventions it tries to undermine, though even this concession is done with 
charm.

Finally, Alan Rickman does perhaps the most solid job of support. He's a 
classically trained Shakespearean actor, and very unhappy at having to don 
the same bony headpiece to further his failed career.  His Dr. Lazarus is a 
stone-faced boor whose feud with Nesmith never fails to elicit chuckles.

A favorite of my daughter's was Mathesar, the leader of the good aliens, 
played by Enrico Colantoni.  His humming, hesitating voice is itself a piece 
of hilarious shtick, and the relationship he builds with the incompetent 
Earthlings is endearing.

Stan Winston's shop did the special effects for the film, and produced 
smooth work.  The bad  alien costumes are particularly compelling, and one 
scene at the end is remarkable in its realism.  Watch for Allen in a 
knock-down funny fight against an alien pig lizard.

After watching the documentary "Trekkies" this past summer, we found this 
film to be a light variation.  Both films are a delight, and both convey a 
sense of ambivalence toward sci-fi fans (much like the tone of a Shatner 
sketch on "Saturday Night Live" in which Capt. Kirk lashes out at 
overzealous "Trek" fans, only to apologize later).  Ultimately, "Quest" 
recognizes how the heart of a show like this is the fans and their loyalty.

For any fans of space movies, especially those set in the microcosms of 
ships, "Galaxy Quest" (though it has a lame title) is a must-see.  Its 
constant references to the genre it parodies make it an intelligent and 
crisply written work.  And it's just plain fun to sit back and laugh at this 
light but smart humor.  See it before going back to school!

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