Galaxy Quest (1999)
Dean Parisot
A hilarious comedy with brilliant cast, dazzling special effects, and a story which is not a simple spoof of other space sagas. Starring Tim Allen as the courageous and fake space captain, and the ever-yummy Sigourney Weaver as a blonde bombshell who doubles as a glorified computer interface device. This film also mixes in a host of funny creatures who look like they've recently come out of the Jim Hanson shop. The result: a beautiful and entertaining, although not surprising, odyssey with laughs, cries, but no groans.
The story, ah, the story. It is the single aspect that can make or break a movie. This one makes it, and intentionally so. Beyond the quips, the nod to excessive fandom, the petty bickering, and the one-liners, there is a classic quest: each character is looking for something missing, something personal, much like the heroes of another great story, ``The Wizard of Oz.'' Again, the crew gets unwittingly plucked into an otherworldly adventure which they have to go through together in order to earn the individual rewards at the end. And again, each discovers that they had been carrying their best around with them. Jason Nesmith begins as an actor full of himself for no good reason and ends as an actor full of himself with some reason. Gwen reconciles with her tits and manages to affect the storyline for once. Fred spends most of his time trying to get rid of his awful blue toupee and finally succeeds when a courageous alien dies in his arms. Tommy, on the other hand, learns to drive and gets his galactic permit class 'A' to operate heavy machinery in space.
These are the quests, the plot is even simpler. A group of actors who have once been famous as characters in a Star Trek-like TV series are now the stuff of cheap commercials and boring conventions. Barring accidents due to the soap opera interpersonal dynamics within the group, they sort of manage to get from a low-paid job to another, with a throng of adulating fans cheering only one of them -- Capt. Taggard (played by Nesmith, played by Allen). Everything changes when a band of aliens persuades a terribly hungover Nesmith to help them in their negotiations with the heinous alien commander (the best-looking makeup I have seen in years). Anyway, he ends up getting all of his fictional crew with him and a hilarious mess ensues. The aliens believe him to be a true captain because they've misinterpreted the TV signals coming from Earth to be records of historical data. Needless to say, a real captain he ain't but he has played one on TV and therefore assumes full responsibility without having a clue. Some twists and turns later (how about those cool blue miner aliens -- What do we do with it? Hit it with a rock and eat it!), the lie unravels but the crew nevertheless manages to save the alien race not without the help of a hopelessly nerdy don't-have-a-life-but-it-doesn't-matter-cause-galaxy-quest-is-all-true geek. Hail all weirdness!
A true family fare, great Friday night, you can even take your date to the movie (unless she gets some sort of complex from seeing Sigourney in a definitely non-Ripley incarnation).
Rating: 8/10
January 8, 2000. BLS