Mel Brooks' Star Wars: Spaceballs

MIKE SAYS Spaceballs is one of the films that kids of my generation grew up with, watching at late night parties and sleepovers; it was one of those films put in the league of "Monty Python" and others, where it became increasingly funny with the lateness of the hour, which means it became pretty hysterical considering how funny it was in the first place.

I may have understood and enjoyed Spaceballs more than I did Star Wars itself for awhile.  The humor, while clever at times, is generally about body parts and toileting, something that children (and, admittedly, most men) find endlessly entertaining.  The villain/hero relationships are much less complex, and, well, let's face it, John Candy will always be a slightly better sidekick than Chewy, if only by a small margin.

One of the things I find endlessly entertaining about the film is its ability to parody iconic image, and in the process, create equally iconic moments.  Guaranteed, you show a picture of Dark Helmet to a random group of people, and at least half of them will break into a huge grin.  And the singing and dancing alien is almost always on my mind no matter which diner I'm eating at.

There are two big misconceptions about this film:  The first is that it is family and child-friendly; I would say that it depends on the family.  While definitely not appropriate for us at the age my siblings and I watched it, that didn't stop us.  The second big misconception is that one must appreciate and know Star Wars to get it, and that isn't true.  While the jabs and jokes at the series' expense do hit better with the well-informed, Spaceballs is just goofy and silly enough that just about anybody will get and appreciate what's going on;  in fact some viewers may take it more seriously than Star Wars itself!

KATE SAYS this is a cute movie (that I can't believe I've never seen!). Rather than a strict parody, it is a story (that holds together surprisingly well) with parodic elements--okay, LOTS of parodic elements, but the story has its own set-up, climax, and pay-off with odd little tributes not only to Star Trek and Alien but It Happened One Night and The Wizard of Oz (I love the Ewok-Munchkins!).

George Wyner

In some ways, Spaceballs even makes more sense than its original. The Empire's motivation in Star Wars IV is STOP THE REBELLION--but nobody ever explains why. Even big bad Empires, like Rome, went through several hundred years of diplomacy, skirmishes, and local insurrections before they razed entire civilizations to the ground. At least, Spaceballs' Empire has a clear reason for its actions!

And, mostly due to Bill Pullman's intrinsic sweetness, the princess-rogue romance delivers fairly high-class acting/dialog.

Scene from "The Red Mile"

I honestly expected more scatological humor, more silliness, and more just pure dumbness. But I quite enjoyed the movie. I have to admit that many of my reservations were squashed when I saw George Wyner (as Colonel Sandurz). George Wyner played Coroner Steiner in The Mentalist; he is a gifted comedian and performed excellently opposite Simon Baker in the straight man role ("The Red Mile" is one of the best Mentalist episodes on record--and it has nothing to do with Red John!).

Yup--That's Tim Russ on the left.

And, okay, I did enjoy the silliness: Spaceball City with the multiple Death Stars; Sandurz's "Are we being too literal?" line in response to the big combs for "combing the desert"; the "father's brother's cousin's former roommate" line. I LOVE the Winnebago; Tim Russ showing up (I just like Tim Russ).

My favorite line comes from Mel Brooks: "The ship is too big. If I walk, the movie will be over." That's kind of a random choice, but it's the sort of thing I think when I go to super-supermarkets: "Geez, by the time I walk from fruits & vegetables to dairy, dinner time will be over," so it made me guffaw.