Galaxy Quest - Movie Review

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Just when you thought "high concept" couldn't get any lower....

And just when you thought lowbrow humor couldn't be funny any more....

That's right, it's an amazing double negative that hasn't successfully been pulled off since South Park: A movie that's incredibly stupid yet fall-down funny.

How stupid? Here's the plot: Washed-up actors from a 1960s sci-fi TV show called Galaxy Quest are mistaken for a real starship crew and are whisked to the stars to do battle with an evil entity.

How funny? Well, it's not South Park funny, but it's frankly one of the better comedies of the year.

Star Trek fans -- you are being mocked. But don't take it personally. If you can laugh at your inner geek, you'll find Galaxy Quest immensely entertaining and enjoyable. I was a Star Wars fan and didn't really grow up with Star Trek, but I got a real kick out of the self-loathing of the likes of the tired character actors played by Rickman and Shalhoub. However, it's Sigourney Weaver who strikes her most memorable character since Lt. Ripley of Alien's Nostromo. As the blond and buxom "Tawny Madison," she owns the part and every scene she's in. While pairing her with goofball Tim Allen is liking casting pearls before swine, Allen does redeem himself with a spot-on Shatner homage.

Getting inside the twisted mindset of the Trek geek is much more fun than you might think, and Galaxy Quest plays all the genre's clichés out to the hilt. In this case, that's a good thing. Just pray that we don't see a sequel. But knowing Star Trek....

Ms. Weaver: Engage.

Facts and Figures

Year: 1999

Run time: 102 mins

In Theaters: Saturday 25th December 1999

Box Office Worldwide: $90.7M

Budget: $45M

Distributed by: DreamWorks SKG

Production compaines: DreamWorks SKG

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3.5 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Fresh: 102 Rotten: 12

IMDB: 7.3 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Dean Parisot

Producer: Suzann Ellis, Mark Johnson, Charles Newirth

Screenwriter: Robert Gordon, David Howard

Starring: Tim Allen as Jason Nesmith, Sigourney Weaver as Gwen DeMarco, Alan Rickman as Alexander Dane, Tony Shalhoub as Fred Kwan, Missi Pyle as Laliari, Sam Rockwell as Guy Fleegman, Daryl Mitchell as Tommy Webber, Enrico Colantoni as Mathesar, Robin Sachs as Sarris, Patrick Breen as Quellek, Jed Rees as Teb, Justin Long as Brandon, Jeremy Howard as Kyle, Kaitlin Cullum as Katelyn, Jonathan Feyer as Hollister

Also starring: Suzann Ellis, Mark Johnson, Charles Newirth, Robert Gordon, David Howard