Label "Galaxy Quest" as another one of those bright ideas that was never given sufficient time to develop before going in front of the cameras. It wants very badly to lampoon the enduring popularity of "Star Trek" -- as well as the sorry post-"Trek" careers of most of the series' stars -- and every so often it hits its mark. More frequently than not, however, the screenplay by David Howard and Robert Gordon opts for safe and bland over satiric, leaving us with a movie that's watchable but frustrating since it's so rife with unexplored potential.
For example, if you managed to sign Sigourney Weaver in your sci-fi comedy, wouldn't you work in a couple of "Alien" gags just to capitalize on the casting? If Howard and Gordon ever came up with any, they didn't make it to the final cut, leaving Weaver with little to do except run around in a cleavage-revealing spacesuit. Her comic skills, shown to prime advantage in "Ghostbusters" and "Working Girl," get considerably less exposure than her chest. Nor does "Quest" get much mileage out of Tim Allen. Wake up, guys: You've got the voice of Buzz Lightyear on board and you can't even whip up a little "Toy Story" parody?
Almost immediately, "Quest" introduces us to hard-drinking Jason (Allen), long-in-the-tooth sex kitten Gwen (Weaver, underneath a mountain of blonde hair) and pompous Alex (Alan Rickman), the less-than-gifted actors who starred in the cult TV series "Galaxy Quest" almost 20 years ago. The show has long since been canceled, but the fans remain devoted nevertheless, showing up to see their favorite characters signing autographs at conventions or hosting ribbon-cutting ceremonies at appliance stores.
Among the throngs of devotees is a quartet of otherworldly types called Thermians, who've caught the "Galaxy Quest" repeats on their home planet in the Klatu Nebula and believe its stars truly are heroic starship troopers. These are the same beings, it turns out, who weep over the bad luck of the castaways on "Gilligan's Island."
The actors, all of whom are anxious for any sort of work, agree to go along with the Thermians, not realizing the four are actual aliens who want help battling the tyrant Sarris (Robin Sachs), a slimy cross between a lobster and a gila monster. Genuine combat turns out to be more than the "Quest" crew bargained for, and they're ill-equipped to deal with flying a spaceship. "There's a red thingy moving toward the green thingy, and I think we're the green thingy," one of them notes, struck by the sight of a radar screen that actually works.
Aside from Rickman's droll reading of Alex, the movie's chief appeal is its sometimes clever special effects, including a gooey form of teleportation and a pile of rocks that turns into an almost unstoppable monster. The makeup effects by Stan Winston are also superb, particularly the work on Sarris and his cohorts.
The comic edge the story needs rarely surfaces, though. Occasionally there's a sharp line here or there, but all too often the humor simply doesn't connect and the screenplay isn't imaginative enough to sustain interest. To paraphrase a famous ad line, in space, no one can hear you yawn. James Sanford
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