GALAXY QUEST
Reviewed by Harvey Karten DreamWorks Pictures Director: Harold Ramis Writer: Robert Gordon Cast: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Robin Sachs
How would you explain what an actor is to an adult who never heard a radio program, watched TV, or went to the theater or a movie? When you think about it, this would be pretty difficult. After all, how do you make clear to someone of such a vastly different culture that people who pretend to be other people are entertaining? This is precisely the dilemma faced by a crew of aging performers in "Galaxy Quest," a consistently funny, good-natured, uncynical parody of a popular TV program that was cancelled after running for three years despite its hard core of dedicated fans. "Star Trek," a series that lasted from 1979 to 1982 and featured (by today's standards) pretty chintzy special effects, was to some extent a cult offering, its devotees actually memorizing details of the various episodes so well that they could quote chapter and verse what happened in which episode in much the way that a Jehovah's Witness could do a similar task with the Bible. By spoofing the series in a congenial way, Dan Parisot gets solid performances from a fine crew of actors, making good use of a script written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. Though the movie's targeted audience is probably bright, albeit geeky, teens and college students, "Galaxy Quest" could conceivably be appreciated by the little ones, its PG rating based on a little cartoon violence and a couple of briefly sensual scenes.
In propelling his lampoon of the TV series, director Parisot plays up the theme of laid-off actors. Just what do well- known performers become when their employment is canceled? (In the case of "Cheers," for example, we know that one such entertainer went on to far greater fame with his own TV program, another has taken on some powerful roles in movies, while some of the others are doing not as well as before, gaining little parts in off-Broadway plays and in movie cartoon voiceovers.) The guys in "Galaxy Quest" (read: "Star Trek") are pleased as punch to hear the wild applause at the special conventions which the devotees attend to see some old screenings and collect autographs, but none of them are doing anything worth writing home about. One of the intriguing aspects of "Galaxy Quest" is that each actor plays another actor who plays yet another actor, providing a field day for semioticians.
In the principal role of Jason Nesmith, Tim Allen doubles as Commander Peter Quincy Taggart--the role taken by William Shatner in the TV series--while Alan Rickman performs in the guise of Alexander Dane, a lizard-like alien who befriended the crew in that very same TV program. With Sigourney Weaver as Gwen DeMarco (here performing as Tawny Madison), Tony Shalhoub as Fred Kwan and doubling as Sergeant Chen, and Daryl Mitchell as Tommy Webber aka Laredo, these characters are about to see life's imitating art.
One day a crew of friendly, stiff octopi from another planet- -who have been able to take on the physical appearance of human beings and have their language immediately translated--approach the cynical and drunken Nesmith, begging him to save their planet from evil green giants led by Sarris (Robin Sachs). Having watched episodes of Star Trek, the leader, Mathesar (Enrico Colantoni), and his "people" have no idea that the programs are unreal, meant simply for entertainment. Considering the episodes to be actual historical documents, they convince Nesmith and his colleagues to beam up to their planet and use their ingenuity to rid them of unfriendly aliens. What follows is one circumstance after another as the fearful actors--who have become discouraged and misanthropic from being out of work for so long--gradually become proud fighters for their alien friends, thereby gaining a whole new outlook on life. Essentially, Dan Parisot does a good job proving the hipness of existential philosophy: you are what you commit yourself to doing. and if your commitment gives you pride and genuine purpose, what more can you ask of life?
The comic tone is evoked by the rigid walks and bizarre talk of the friendly aliens, by the confused and often edgy banter of the human crew determined to save their pals, and by the dialogue which parodies the corny lines of the TV show. "I won't say that stupid line one more time," insists Dane as he prepares to meet his devotees--who expect him to repeat the watchwords of the show. The actors increasingly and unconsciously follow the dialogue they maintained from their 1979-1982 scripts as they meet the challenges. "Galaxy Quest" is altogether a holiday surprise, a movie with a trailer that could make a potential moviegoer think twice before paying his money and taking his chances, but one which comes through as an congenial, occasionally laugh-out-loud satire that has a broad affection for its target.
Rated PG. Running Time: 104 minutes. (C) 1999 Harvey Karten, film_critic@compuserve.com
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