"GALAXY QUEST" review by R.L. Strong 4 stars Rated PG for suggestive situations, sci-fi violence and language.
DREAMWORKS PICTURES PRESENTS A MARK JOHNSON PRODUCTION "GALAXY QUEST" TIM ALLEN SIGOURNEY WEAVER ALAN RICKMAN TONY SHALHOUB SAM ROCKWELL DARYL MITCHELL CO-PRODUCERS SUZANN ELLIS & SONA GOURGOURIS
MUSIC BY DAVID NEWMAN ALIEN MAKEUP AND CREATURE EFFECTS STAN WINSTON COSTUME DESIGNER ALBERT WOLSKY EDITOR DON ZIMMERMAN, A.C.E. PRODUCTION DESIGNER LINDA DESCENNA DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY JERZY ZEILINSKI EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ELIZABETH CANTILLON PRODUCED BY MARK JOHNSON & CHARLES NEWIRTH STORY BY DAVID HOWARD SCREENPLAY BY DAVID HOWARD AND ROBERT GORDON DIRECTED BY DEAN PARISOT
Fandom is a strange phenomenon. There are those that revel in the minutia of every episode of "Lost in Space", "Star Trek", Godzilla movies and more. What is even more fascinating about fandom is the growing acceptance and exploitation of it by those actors and actresses that receive this attention. The film "Galaxy Quest" is a film that both pokes fun at and embraces this faction, in a loving tribute to both modern commercialism and old fashion escapism.
The film opens at a convention celebrating the cast and production of a long ago canceled television show, 'Galaxy Quest'. The four cast members waiting, behind stage for the arrival of the "Star" Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen). They bicker and complain about the lack of attention they had received due to their "Captain", and the typecasting that has all but ended their careers. As Jason Nesmith arrives and takes the stage with his T.V. crew, he soon becomes as disenchanted as his fellow actors, overhearing a couple of kids complaining about his posturing over a poor quality program. Knowing that his fellow cast members hold him in the lowest of esteem, Jason returns to his home to drink away his disappointment.
The following morning, Jason is awakened by a quartet of costumed fans, who proclaim to be from the Klatuu Nebula asking him for his help in saving their planet. Hung over and depressed, Jason believes that the quartet is actually a production group he had previously arranged an engagement with. So getting into their limousine, Jason passes out as the four Aliens brief him on their history and the situation at hand. The limousine turns into an alley and is suddenly lifted off the ground.
Waking up on, what he believes to be one of the most elaborate sets he's ever seen. Moving into the command deck, Jason confronts Saris (Robin Sachs), the evil Alien dictator who is out to conquer the "Thermions". Nonchalantly, carrying on his role, Jason commands the alien crew to fire on Saris' ship. Feeling that the gig is over, Jason walks off the deck and is followed by Mathesar (Enrico Colantoni), who is concerned of the situation but agrees to send Jason home so that he can arrive at another engagement in the San Fernando Valley. Locking Jason into a steel room, Jason cries out "Hey, where's my Limo?", as the outer doors open revealing the vast nebula of space. Encased in a liquid bubble, Jason is catapulted through a black hole and onto the deck by his swimming pool.
Rushing to a Hardware Store, where the other cast members of "Galaxy Quest" are engaged in a ribbon cutting ceremony, Jason tries to tell his "crew" about his adventures. As Jason tells the group, Mathesar and his group arrive to report of Saris' survival and demand for surrender. Angry and disappointed Jason's fellow actors walk off, until they realize that Jason may have been offering them.. a job.
"Galaxy Quest" is just pure entertainment. Light, jovial, and just a hell of a lot of fun. The screenplay by David Howard and Robert Gorgon is both a knowing and loving tribute to classic sci-fi television but also to the fandom that it has inspired. Seen as a lampoon on the 'Star Trek Convention' circuit, "Galaxy Quest", pulls out many fanciful rumors of cast squabbling, cardboard sets, the obligatory cast member who must die, and fans who attend the conventions costumed as their favorite character. The adventure in space is as enjoyable (if not more so), in that the actors now have to behave as the characters they had once portrayed, all the while bitching and complaining about Jason trying to "hog the scene".
Tim Allen gives his best performance here. His comic timing has never been more on the mark. But the real charm here is the marvelous comic turn by Sigourney Weaver as actress Gwen DeMarco. Besting her performance in "Ghostbusters", Ms. Weaver gives a hilariously performance as an actress noted for her bosom and "repeating whatever the computer says".
Desperate to escape from the clutches of typecasting, Alan Rickman as actor Sir Alexander is absolutely droll in his role, oblivious to the foam latex head piece he wares throughout the film Tony gives the character of Fred Kwan a wonderful deadpan quality. His acceptance of whatever happens is the counterbalance to the rest of the cast.
Special mention also to Daryl Mitchell as Tommy Webber who manages to be both the innocent of the group and the one most needing to follow his fellow actors wherever they go. Enrico Colantoni as Mathesar painfully funny, his delivery of his lines spoken through a tight misunderstanding of the pronunciation and meaning of English, is almost vaudevillian in its delivery and use of strange accent. Sam Rockwell as Guy Fleegman is hilarious, a part time actor who stumbles upon the adventure of the lifetime and is fearful for his life because "his character does not have a last name". And finally, Robin Sachs , laboring under heavy costuming and makeup as Saris, gives a formidable performance, augmented by Stan Winston's marvelous creature designs and makeup.
As for the technical credits, Stan Winston's creature effects, what can be said but bravo. From recycling his Martian design from Tobe Hooper's "Invader's From Mars", to creating some humorous new designs for the aliens, Stan Winston proves why he is one of the industries most sought after effects technicians. And the special effects by Industrial Light and Magic continue to amaze and delight. The cinematography by Jerzy Zielinski is nicely appropriate, conveying both the concepts and timings of a television drama while also enveloping the screen with a bright and colorful template. David Newman's score is both heroic and cliched in such a way that it calls up both the absurdity of the concept while reveling in its campiness. A damn good score that bears repeated listening.
Director Dean Parisot handles the film with a sure hand and style that is both simplistic and unique. One of the most humorous tricks the film plays is that the opening of the film starts off at an aspect ration of 1.66:1(1.66 times as wide as it is tall), not a very wide composition, looking almost like a television show. It soon shifts to a theatrical ratio of 1.85:1 during the convention scenes, finally settling to a full panavision ratio of 2.35:1 with Jason Nesmith finally realizing he is actually in outer space (it's unfortunate that this marvelous gag will be lost on home video). Director Parisot manages to create a charming and very funny homage to fandom.
"Galaxy Quest" is just one fun evenings worth of entertainment. A fine film for the whole family, with only a few questionable moments for younger children. But still a film that will entertain and can be enjoyed over and over again. Owned & Copyright © 1999-2000 R.L. StrongNothing in this article may be quoted or re-printed without the expressed written permission of the author.
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