GALAXY QUEST
A film review by Christopher Null
Copyright 1999 filmcritic.com
filmcritic.com
Just when you thought "high concept" couldn't get any lower....
And just when you thought lowbrow humor couldn't be funny any more....
That's right, it's an amazing double negative that hasn't successfully been pulled off since SOUTH PARK: A movie that's incredibly stupid yet fall-down funny.
How stupid? Here's the plot: Washed-up actors from a 1960's sci-fi TV show called "Galaxy Quest" are mistaken for a real starship crew and are whisked to the stars to do battle with an evil entity.
How funny? Well, it's not SOUTH PARK funny, but it's frankly one of the better comedies of the year.
"Star Trek" fans -- you are being mocked. But don't take it personally. If you can laugh at your inner geek, you'll find GALAXY QUEST immensely entertaining and enjoyable. I was a STAR WARS fan and didn't really grow up with "Star Trek," but I got a real kick out of the self-loathing of the likes of the tired character actors played by Rickman and Shalhoub. However, it's Sigourney Weaver who strikes her most memorable character since Lt. Ripley of ALIEN's Nostromo. As the blond and buxom "Tawny Madison," she owns the part and every scene she's in. While pairing her with goofball Tim Allen is liking casting pearls before swine, Allen does redeem himself with a spot-on Shatner homage.
Getting inside the twisted mindset of the 'Trek geek is much more fun than you might think, and GALAXY QUEST plays all the genre's clichés out to the hilt. In this case, that's a good thing. Just pray that we don't see a sequel. But knowing "Star Trek,"....
RATING: ***1/2
|------------------------------|
\ ***** Perfection \
\ **** Good, memorable film \
\ *** Average, hits and misses \
\ ** Sub-par on many levels \
\ * Unquestionably awful \
|------------------------------|
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Dean Parisot Producer: Suzann Ellis, Mark Johnson, Charles Newirth Writer: Robert Gordon, David Howard Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Sam Rockwell, Missi Pyle
http://www.galaxyquest.com/
--- Christopher Null - null@filmcritic.com - http://www.filmcritic.com
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