Idiot-Deluxe
"So princess Vespa you thought you could out-wit the imperious forces of planet Spaceball. Well you were wrong... You are now our prisoner and you will be held hostage until such time - until all of the air is transferred from your planet - To Ours.... SHE'S NOT IN THERE! / Radar repaired sir, were picking up the out-line of a - Winnebago." Similar in status to Ghostbusters, Mel Brook's "Spaceballs" is one of the great action-comedies of the 80's, but yet it contains even more laughs and proves to be more comically outlandish then Ghostbusters could ever hope to be. Spaceballs is also categorized as a spoof, which in it's case is obviously mocking Star Wars, but it hardly ends there as it also contains references to Star Trek, Aliens and Planet of the Apes and with Mel Brooks overseeing everything, this film covers all that material brilliantly, ultimately resulting in one of the funniest and most quotable movies ever made.Starring Bill Pullman (in his one and only good role), the late-great John Candy, Rick Moranis, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten and Mel Brooks (in a dual-role), as well as a generous amount of assistance and expertise from Industrial Light and Magic, who created the movies numerous special effects. As a comedy few movies, if any, are more effectively put together and as a spoof Spaceballs is simply unrivaled with it's boundless "gag-a-minute" levels of humor, rock-solid production values and George Lucas-approved special effects. Once all of it's ingredients are put together Spaceballs gels unbelievably well on all levels and through the wizardry of Mel Brooks the movie effectively transports it's audiences into the zaniest far corner's of the universe, in the form of a hilarious, one-of-a-kind space Odyssey. One that's as ripe in it's extravagance, as it is endless in it's charm.If one were to speak of it's plot, I think the closest comparison would have to be Star Wars: Episode IV "A New Hope", as several key plot points in both films are virtually identical. A swaggering group of space-travelers risk it all (and for one-million Space Bucks) to rescue the princess and then in the face over-whelming odds, they must rise against and destroy the imperial forces of a vast evil empire and bring their reign of intergalactic tyranny to an end. Does any of that sound familiar? Sure, that happens in Star Wars: A New Hope and a decade later in Spaceballs. Except it's not The Force were dealing with here - it's the Schwartz, it's not Darth Vader - it's Dark Helmet, it's not Yoda - it's Yogurt, it's not Jabba The Hut - it's Pizza The Hut and with "Ludicrous Speed" Spaceballs goes not one, but two steps above and beyond Star Wars when Spaceball-1 burns a vast swath of plaid, several light-years long, across the galaxy. "What the hell was that! / Spaceball-1. / They've gone to plaid." The finale of this comedy classic is pretty much perfect in all ways, ending in explosively exhilarating fashion as Captain Lonestar and Barf seal the fate of the villainous Spaceballs. During which a sort of cosmic ballet unfolds, which happens to be set to the beat of a particularly catchy pop number (with great vocals!) in form of the "Spaceballs Theme". This riotously rockin' song effectively increases the films space-based lunacy and mayhem, which eventually blossoms into a scene of full-on panic, as Mega-Maid goes from Suck to Blow and then to Self-Destruct! The climatic shot of this sequence is a thing of beauty, which at the same time is not entirely unlike when Lando Calrissian fly's the Millennium Falcon from the bowels of Death Star just before it explodes. This consequently sets the stage for a hilarious Planet of the Apes interlude, one in which it's ape inhabitants are ever so pithy and waspy.Not surprisingly of all the movies I've ever seen Spaceballs still reigns, nearly 30 years after it's release, as thee most ridiculous movie ever, visually, verbally and musically - it scores off-the-charts in all those aspects. The films soundtrack is a marvelously effective combination of tastelessness vs. tradition, in which you'll often hear it pulsing to the hip tunes of Bon Jovi and other fine merchants 80's Hair Metal sleaze. Then there's the more traditional orchestral aspect of it, which was contributed by Jon Morris (Mel Brooks' favorite composer), complete with laser beam FX. But most importantly is the films utterly inspired cast, especially in the case of Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet, it's a thing of sheer perfection, even the chronically underwhelming Bill Pullman delivers fantastically as Captain Lonestar in this riotous, one-off, comedy classic.Released in the summer of 1987 a good four years after Return of the Jedi was in the theaters, on that note I can't help but think about what kind of business Spaceballs would have done had it been released three or four years earlier. By 1987 Stars Wars-mania had cooled down significantly and much better movies like "Jaws: The Revenge" (grin) or "Garbage-Pail Kids The Movie" ("A Topps Bubblegum Production") were making their assault on the box office, while triumphantly winning over throngs of exhilarated audiences all over the world. But back to all things Spaceballs and it's majestic glory, yes my love for this movie runs deep and I'll cap things off with it's unofficial tag-line, which is: May the Schwartz be with you... always.
MaximumMadness
One of the most unique and mind-bending forces to ever grace the world of comedy, Mel Brooks was and still very much is a national treasure. However, with the brilliance of his work comes something of a minor tragedy that is undeniable... his body of work, while almost entirely high quality and consistently hilarious, is quite small. With no more than a dozen directing credits to his name over a period of less than thirty years, and with his last feature directorial effort film having been made more than twenty years ago, Brooks seemed to peak far too soon before retiring to work as a producer and actor. It's one of the great shames of the world of entertainment... that we didn't get more comedy masterpieces from this genius.One of his later films, the wild and wacky Sci-Fi parody "Spaceballs", has gone on to become something of a cult classic. Not as massive a hit as his other movies at initial release, the film went on to earn a second life on home video and cable airings, later solidifying it as another strong win for Brooks. And this is of course thanks to his trademark humor and the very likable performances of the excellent cast. Focused primarily on lampooning the cultural phenomena that was George Lucas' "Star Wars" along with a smattering of other clever tie-ins to famous and timeless Sci-Fi properties, "Spaceballs" is a fine example of parody done right... something particularly admirable with today's trend in so-called "parodies" being little more than cheap and instantly-dated affairs that trade nonsensical references for true gags.Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) and the incompetent President Skroob (Brooks) of the villainous Planet Spaceball hatch a plan to kidnap Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga). Their goal: To use her as a bargaining chip to suck all of the fresh air off her peaceful Planet Druidia, having squandered their own supply. Dashing mercenary Lone Star (Bill Pullman) and his half-canine, half-man sidekick Barf (short for Barfolomew, as portrayed by John Candy) are enlisted to help save the day. Their journey will take them on various misadventures, including meeting master of the mysterious "Schwatz" and merchandising genius Yogut (also portrayed by Brooks) and battling a giant robotic super-weapon known as "Mega Maid."Brooks' is for the most part at the top of his game, at least as far as humor is concerned. He continues his strong trend of brilliant parody, with his main focus of course being the original "Star Wars" trilogy. Characters are perfect parallels and satires of their counterparts, and there's even a bit of really clever fourth- wall breaking going on. My favorite bit being the character "Yogurt", who not only parodies the famed Frank Oz creation of Yoda, but is also a nice subtle swipe at George Lucas' over- eagerness to capitalize on "Star Wars" through merchandising every product imaginable. Another of the big stand- outs is Moranis' Dark Helmet, a brilliant re-imagining of Darth Vader that takes the iconic villain and re-interprets him as a bratty, pencil-necked geek in an intimidating and over-sized mechanical suit. There's some really funny stuff that goes on with the character and he has some of the best laugh-out-loud moments of the film.The rest of the cast is similarly wonderful. Pullman makes for a charming and very likable oafish rift on Han Solo. Candy is just perfect as the lovable and kind-hearted goofball that is Barf. Zuniga is appropriately feisty as the dashing Princess. Brooks' dual roles are both outstanding supporting characters that make good use of his dry wit and infectious charm. And other supporting roles by the likes of George Wyner and Dick Van Patton are just a ton of fun. But I gotta give special props to the late and great Joan Rivers, who supplies the voice of trash-talking android Dot Matrix, Vespa's constant companion. Not only a great rift on the duo of C- 3PO and R2-D2, but just a great character in her own right.That being said, this isn't one of Brooks' very best, and a few points need to be docked for some fairly large faults that hold it back from time to time. This is perhaps the most scattershot and unfocused of Brooks' films, and while it doesn't falter as much as say "Dracula: Dead and Loving It", it still doesn't quite work in a lot of scenes. There's a few too many random references and nonsensical insertions of various other properties, that I found it distracting. For example and without spoiling anything... yes, the "Alien" parody was silly, but it felt out of the blue and unnecessary. A prolonged gag based on "Star Trek" teleporters also felt a bit out of place, especially in the context of which it was used. I also do find that this is where Brooks' humor started a trend in becoming far more hit-and-miss. For every zinger, there's a groaner here. And while it will become more and more amusing on repeated viewings, it just lacks that inherent freshness of his other films as a result of this.Still, I cannot deny that "Spaceballs" is a great time. There's a ton of fun to be had with its silly premise, fine performances and its clever gags. And while it may not deliver on the promise of his earlier work, Brooks' still shines with his hilarious writing and solid use of parody. It's no "Young Frankenstein"... but it's close enough to make it worth your while.I give "Spaceballs" a very good 8 out of 10. May the Schwatz be with you!
