GALAXY QUEST
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: What would happen if the cast of
"Star Trek" actors was whisked into space and told
they had to fight real aliens? Aliens who do not
understand the concept of fiction and who believe
in the crew of "Galaxy Quest" borrow the actors to
help save their race. The film is consistently
amusing but it never becomes any more than a one-
joke film. Worth seeing once. Rating: 6 (0 to
10), +1 (-4 to +4)
The cast rivalries of "Star Trek" actors, and the conventions of "Star Trek" as well as "Star Trek" conventions, all get a fairly loving shellacking in an enjoyable comedy that asks if the cast of "Star Trek" had to fight real aliens, how well would they do.
Back in the early 1970s there was a science fiction TV show that would be immortal to its fans, "Galaxy Quest." Even today the die-hard fans want more. Let's get this part out of the way so we can proceed. Tim Allen plays Jason Nesmith who on the show played Comdr. Peter Quincy Taggart. Alan Rickman plays Alexander Dane who played Dr. Lazarus of Tev'Meck. Sigourney Weaver plays Gwen DeMarco who played Lt. Tawny Madison. Tony Shalhoub, who does not look the slightest bit Chinese, plays Fred Kwan who played Tech Sergeant Chen. And Daryl Mitchell plays Tommy Webber who played Lt. Laredo. With each but possibly Laredo, the writers were clearly thinking of a corresponding member of the "Star Trek" cast.
In spite of the fact that Galaxy Quest has been off the air for many years the cast continues to be a hot item at science fiction media conventions. Just about everyone in the cast is tired of being type- cast, but they have to contend with the fame and popularity they got from the TV show. Most tired is Alexander Dane who at one time played Richard III to raving audiences but now is reduced to repeating the tire TV show catch-phrases over and over, ad nauseum. And all are a little tire of how Jason Nesmith, who played their leader, basks in all the glory at the conventions and treats the other cast members like decoration. He behaves like a rude, ego-centric jerk. When four teens in alien costumes ask Nesmith to see their space ship and fight an alien for them he plays along with the gag. Then he finds out that they in truth are aliens, their spaceship is authentic, and their foes are all too real. Soon the whole crew is pulled involuntarily into the adventure. For once they have no script, no director, no lines, and they are in real danger.
As a story about the actors we have come to know so well from "Star Trek," this film is passable but cliched. By depending on each other they build firm relationships of mutual respect. Outward Bound probably has hundreds of stories just as moving. As a space opera adventure this film is fairly lame. That is not the point, of course, but it might have been a better movie with a little more thought about the adventure. In general the audience is a step or two ahead of the characters. The greatest value of the film is the lampooning of the "Star Trek" iconography. And in doing that it is considerably more adept than anything Mel Brooks has done for a good long time.
Nobody requires great dramatic scenes in a film like this. Tim Allen's acting was more than sufficient and his timing adequate. He might have issued one little "To infinity and beyond," if that would not have been mixing metaphors. Sigourney Weaver did not have a lot to do besides wear a tight suit well, which she still can do surprisingly luster, half-speed performance from character actor Tony Shalhoub. He is one of the actors I tend to watch for, but not for the sort of effort he seemed to give this role. He looked like he just felt out of place.
The ideal length for this material would have been as a ten-minute skit. It is impressive that director Dean Parisot kept the chuckles coming as long as he did. This is a one-viewing film, but pleasant enough. I give it a 6 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 1999 Mark R. Leeper
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