Galaxy Quest (7/10)
What happens to the stars of a long-cancelled TV show that still has a devoted following? In the case of the tacky science fiction adventure show Galaxy Quest, the actors, now forever associated with their roles, scratch out a living attending fan conventions and opening stores. Tim Allen plays the actor who portrayed the starship commander (the show's James T. Kirk). Now a boozy has-been, he glories in the adulation he - or at least his character - receives from the show's obsessive fans. Sigourney Weaver was the show's sexpot who now bemoans the fact that her sole responsibilities were repeating whatever the ship's computer said and displaying the maximum amount of cleavage. Alan Rickman plays a British acting knight who was the show's equivalent of Mr. Spock and is mortified at the depths to which his career has now sunk. But things are about to pick up for the clapped-out Galaxy Quest cast. Transmissions of the TV show have been picked up by the Thermians, a meek alien race persecuted by nasty giant locust-like baddies. As if the Thermians weren't in enough trouble already, they interpret the show as documentary material and believe that the Galaxy Quest crew are genuine intergalactic heroes. Oops. Obviously a race lacking in locust-stomping ability, the Thermians come to Earth to seek the crew's help.
Spoof science fiction films can be truly awful. (Spaceballs. I rest my case.) In fact, good science fiction comedy films are as rare as Klingons with good table manners. The sci-fi porn epic Flesh Gordon was pretty funny, but that hardly counts. Although Galaxy Quest could easily have been a one-joke film that relied too heavily on its premise, the idea is developed and sustained in David Howard and Robert Gordon's script, which skilfully exploits the conventions of TV science fiction series to comic effect. And the fans, who could so easily have been made the butt of jokes and dismissed as spotty propellerheads with poorly- developed social skills, are actually treated with considerable warmth and good-humour.
The lead performances are fine, but the standouts are in two of the lesser roles. Sam Rockwell plays "Crewman number 6", who was only ever a minor character in the show and, knowing the facts of TV show life, fears he's expendable and likely to perish at any moment. The most memorable turn, though, comes from Enrico Colantoni, who in his performance as the grinning Thermian with his bizarre sing-song version of spoken English, manages to be both endearing and very funny. Dean Parisot's direction is competent in a low-key way, though the production never threatens to rise too far above the cheesiness of the material is seeks to affectionately poke fun at, which is perhaps just as well.
Although Galaxy Quest is never going to win bucketloads of awards, it succeeds in its modest ambition to be a lightweight but extremely enjoyable science fiction comedy.
--
Gary Jones
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