Galaxy Quest Review
By Christopher Null
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