Review of Galaxy Quest (1999) by Bryan W — 24 May 2011

In satirizing well known and popular work, it's easy to shoot for the cheap seats; while parodies like that of the 'Scary Movie' series maintain financial and some degree of popular success, their missed connection with critics is not mystical. By playing the parody broadly and resorting to easy gags that often have nothing to do with the source material, they insure the type of cheap laughs that see a majority of comedy fans rolling their eyes in disdain.

This movie changes the paradigm; like 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz', this movie parodies Star Trek without an ounce of venom or simplicity. In fact, the obvious love of all things science fiction oozes out of every moment of the film, from the production design up to the actors themselves. By securing an A-list cast that could have easily been wasted and asking them to play it straight, this movie mines more from the comedic nerve than a dozen 'Scary Movie' style parodies.

Star Trek may seem like an obvious choice, but it was difficult enough to do that few have tried it, and the success is unparalleled. Allen provides the experience of a washed up but popular TV celebrity, Weaver provides us with the antithesis of her science fiction persona, Rockwell put a soul into the sap who gets killed in the first five minutes, Shaloub gives us some behind-the-curve wonderment, and Colantoni crafts a perfectly unique, hilarious, and heartfelt naive alien species.

The script may not hit every hilarious cliche available in low-budget science fiction, but to put any more laughs into such a tight film would be trying and dull the sharper moments, something this creative team refuses to do in lieu of plot. Not every gag strikes like lightning, but the film is layered densely enough that the obvious jokes provide swift jabs continuously and the lesser ones, and especially the sight gags, boil over with each repeated viewing.

One might assume I was missing out on a major aspect of the film, but I saved the best for last. True to form, Rickman burgles his scenes more often than any other scene stealer present, taking the straight man role to the utmost extreme by never smiling or laughing, giving us an honest and gut busting English actor whose resolve has been dulled by years of repeating the same stupid tagline. Rickman provides perhaps one of my favorite comedic moments in film history early in the film:

"By Grapthar's... Hammer...

...

What a savings.".