Review of Spaceballs (1987) by Edgar C — 30 Jun 2013

26 years later, Spaceballs is still funny.

Most comedies are a sign of the times, but Mel Brooks has managed, on multiple occasions, to make a movie that is consistently hilarious throughout every scene regardless of what decade it's watched in. Spaceballs parodies every sci-fi epic up until its time, including the Star Wars, Star Trek, 2001, Planet of the Apes, Trans Formers, and Alien sagas. And in spite of the fact that it's borrowing a lot of material, the jokes are downright original... and sidesplitting ("Why didn't somebody tell me my ass was so big?!").

The movie takes every outlandish aspect of science fiction and makes it practical, which is funny no matter how you look at it. Teleportation, robots, anthropomorphic animals (and pizzas), flying cars, radar screens, futuristic sound effects, laser guns/swords, armored henchmen, strange planets, and of course, ludicrous speeds, are all attacked and exploited for the nonsense they really are. It's almost a post-modern future movie, if there could be such a thing.

Watching Spaceballs again, and on Blu-Ray disc, I've found it better than ever. The movie is beautifully written, acted, shot, and edited; truly a superior comedy film. Brooks also managed to capture the essence of every major David Lean movie in one act (The "Lawrence of Arabia" theme when entering the desert, the "Doctor Zhivago" romance while sleeping in the desert, and the "Colonel Bogey March" being whistled by the Dinks while being rescued from the desert... at the same time referencing Alec Guinness's character from "Star Wars", who incidentally appears in all three Dean films). Not to mention the "Wizard of Oz" nod that follows shortly after. This is truly a film produced for movie lovers, not for the audience willing to spend the most money at the theater.

Spaceballs is a laugh riot from start to finish. The swearing isn't excessive, there isn't really any crude imagery, and there are no major drug or alcohol references, but somehow it manages to be as hilarious as it is timeless. The race jokes are there, but never hit below the belt. (A Million?!?!). If you're a comedy lover, Spaceballs is a must. If you're a movie lover, Spaceballs is a must. If you're a science fiction lover, Spaceballs is a must. If you're... human, Spaceballs is a must. One of my top ten favorite movies.