Subject: Retrospective: Spaceballs (1987)

From: Jerry Saravia <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 18:36:18 -0000

SPACEBALLS (1987)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: Three stars

I have said it before and I will say it again. Spoofs are often at their best 
when they mock films that take themselves seriously. The original "Star Wars" 
was not exactly serious science-fiction, though "The Empire Strikes Back" 
certainly had a darker tone. Therefore, spoofing something that was in and of 
itself a send-up of science-fiction serials often presents a problem. Mel 
Brooks scored high marks with spoofing James Whales' "Frankenstein" and "The 
Bride of Frankenstein" in "Young Frankenstein" but that worked wonders 
because the "Frankenstein" films were, on some level, meant to be taken 
seriously. Brooks's "Spaceballs" has scores of jokes and puns and some of it 
is funny, but too much broad humor and yuk-yuk jokes prove how stale some of 
it can be amid the precious gags that work. 

The movie opens with an obscenely long shot of a massive space cruiser with a 
sign that reads "We Brake For Nobody." We meet Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), 
who has difficulty breathing through his mask, and who intends to steal the 
atmosphere of the planet Druidia. He has help thanks to President Skroob (Mel 
Brooks), the president of Spaceball, a neighboring planet of Druidia. Of 
course, someone must stop him and who better qualified than Lone Starr (Bill 
Pullman), the studly space jockey and his assistant, Barf (the late John 
Candy), a Mog (half man, half dog), and the "Jewish princess" Princess Vespa 
(Daphne Zuniga), who is not about to marry Prince Valium. There is also good 
old Brooks in another role as the all-powerful Yogurt who keeps saying "May 
the Schwartz be with you" and possesses an all-powerful ring that allows you 
to use the Schwartz. And how can we forget the oily, edible Pizza the Hut? 

"Spaceballs" has lots of great gags. I love the shot where stormtrooper 
clones comb the desert. I also like the lightsaber duel where Dark Helmet 
keeps bumping into the camera crew. And how about the actor's doubles? Or 
Michael Winslow from the "Police Academy" films who can mimic all kinds of 
computerized sounds? And how about the priceless John Hurt reprising his role 
from "Alien" where his chest bursts with an alien doing a tapdance number? 
But the joke to end all jokes, the epitome of greatness, is when Dark Helmet 
and President Skroob watch a videocassette copy of "Spaceballs" the movie and 
fast-forward to find Lone Starr and his friends. It is a purely hilarious 
sequence that fits with the postmodernist movement where we are always 
reminded we are watching a movie. 

"Spaceballs" is not a great Brooks comedy like "Young Frankenstein" or "The 
Producers" but it sure has its fill of clever jokes, amidst juvenile ones, to 
score a decent mark on the laugh meter. Suffice to say that if you are a fan 
of "Star Wars," you'll enjoy it more than most. 

Post any comments, complaints or general questions at 
http://moviething.com/members/movies/faust/forum.shtml or email me at 
[email-masked] or at [email-masked] 

For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at h
ttp://moviething.com/members/movies/faust/JATMindex.shtml

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X-RT-RatingText: 3/4