From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:27 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.direct.ca!hammer.uoregon.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Ssg722@aol.com (Susan Granger) ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 23 Dec 1999 03:10:06 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 30 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <83s3qe$16js$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer36.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 945918606 39548 (None) 140.142.17.40 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22321 Keywords: author=granger X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer36.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21520 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2533 http://www.speakers-podium.com/susangranger. Susan Granger's review of "GALAXY QUEST" (DreamWorks) Glory, Hallelujah - this is the Christmas action comedy you've been waiting for! Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, and Daryl Mitchell play five actors who - 20 years ago - starred on a popular television series that was canceled. For four seasons, from 1979 to 1982, they played the crew of the NSEA Protector - now they earn their living appearing in costume at sci-fi conventions and chain-store openings. However, far in deep, outer space, the Thermians, a race of aliens from the Klatu Nebula, have intercepted Earth's TV transmissions and, having no knowledge of fiction or drama, they have mistaken the sci-fi shows for valid historical documents. So when they're faced with a deadly adversary, the ruthless Roth'h'ar Sarris of Fatu-Krey (Robin Sachs), the Thermians abduct the characters - Comdr. Peter Quincy Taggert, Lt. Tawny Madison, Dr. Lazarus, et al - not realizing they're really out-of-work actors. With no script, no director, and no clue about real space travel, the actors must turn in the performances of their lives to become the intergalactic heroes they've convinced everyone they are, as they encounter cannibalistic Blue Demon children, a giant Rock Monster, and a Pig Lizard. As the vain, self-serving commander, Tim Allen has never been better. Sigourney Weaver is a sexy, shameless babe, and Alan Rickman is outrageous as a Shakespearean-trained Brit who has been reduced to playing a half-human/half reptile. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Galaxy Quest is an exuberant, enormously funny 8. Aptly directed by Dean Parisot from a cleverly ironic screenplay by David Howard and Robert Gordon, it's a bright, shiny holiday package of pure enjoyment, destined to blast into one of the big hits of the season. From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:27 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: James Sanford ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 19 Dec 1999 20:38:54 GMT Organization: EarthLink Network, Inc. ~Lines: 52 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <83jfou$10v4$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer36.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 945635934 33764 (None) 140.142.17.37 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22299 Keywords: author=sanford X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer36.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21500 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2530 Label "Galaxy Quest" as another one of those bright ideas that was never given sufficient time to develop before going in front of the cameras. It wants very badly to lampoon the enduring popularity of "Star Trek" -- as well as the sorry post-"Trek" careers of most of the series' stars -- and every so often it hits its mark. More frequently than not, however, the screenplay by David Howard and Robert Gordon opts for safe and bland over satiric, leaving us with a movie that's watchable but frustrating since it's so rife with unexplored potential. For example, if you managed to sign Sigourney Weaver in your sci-fi comedy, wouldn't you work in a couple of "Alien" gags just to capitalize on the casting? If Howard and Gordon ever came up with any, they didn't make it to the final cut, leaving Weaver with little to do except run around in a cleavage-revealing spacesuit. Her comic skills, shown to prime advantage in "Ghostbusters" and "Working Girl," get considerably less exposure than her chest. Nor does "Quest" get much mileage out of Tim Allen. Wake up, guys: You've got the voice of Buzz Lightyear on board and you can't even whip up a little "Toy Story" parody? Almost immediately, "Quest" introduces us to hard-drinking Jason (Allen), long-in-the-tooth sex kitten Gwen (Weaver, underneath a mountain of blonde hair) and pompous Alex (Alan Rickman), the less-than-gifted actors who starred in the cult TV series "Galaxy Quest" almost 20 years ago. The show has long since been canceled, but the fans remain devoted nevertheless, showing up to see their favorite characters signing autographs at conventions or hosting ribbon-cutting ceremonies at appliance stores. Among the throngs of devotees is a quartet of otherworldly types called Thermians, who've caught the "Galaxy Quest" repeats on their home planet in the Klatu Nebula and believe its stars truly are heroic starship troopers. These are the same beings, it turns out, who weep over the bad luck of the castaways on "Gilligan's Island." The actors, all of whom are anxious for any sort of work, agree to go along with the Thermians, not realizing the four are actual aliens who want help battling the tyrant Sarris (Robin Sachs), a slimy cross between a lobster and a gila monster. Genuine combat turns out to be more than the "Quest" crew bargained for, and they're ill-equipped to deal with flying a spaceship. "There's a red thingy moving toward the green thingy, and I think we're the green thingy," one of them notes, struck by the sight of a radar screen that actually works. Aside from Rickman's droll reading of Alex, the movie's chief appeal is its sometimes clever special effects, including a gooey form of teleportation and a pile of rocks that turns into an almost unstoppable monster. The makeup effects by Stan Winston are also superb, particularly the work on Sarris and his cohorts. The comic edge the story needs rarely surfaces, though. Occasionally there's a sharp line here or there, but all too often the humor simply doesn't connect and the screenplay isn't imaginative enough to sustain interest. To paraphrase a famous ad line, in space, no one can hear you yawn. James Sanford From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:28 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!hermes.visi.com!news-out.visi.com!news.idt.net!logbridge.uoregon.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Christopher Null ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 23 Dec 1999 03:09:57 GMT Organization: filmcritic.com ~Lines: 63 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <83s3q5$16jo$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer39.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 945918597 39544 (None) 140.142.17.40 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22318 Keywords: author=null X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer39.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21519 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2532 GALAXY QUEST A film review by Christopher Null Copyright 1999 filmcritic.com filmcritic.com 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 1960's 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,".... RATING: ***1/2 |------------------------------| \ ***** Perfection \ \ **** Good, memorable film \ \ *** Average, hits and misses \ \ ** Sub-par on many levels \ \ * Unquestionably awful \ |------------------------------| MPAA Rating: PG Director: Dean Parisot Producer: Suzann Ellis, Mark Johnson, Charles Newirth Writer: Robert Gordon, David Howard Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Sam Rockwell, Missi Pyle http://www.galaxyquest.com/ --- Christopher Null - null@filmcritic.com - http://www.filmcritic.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:28 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: "Steve Rhodes" ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 23 Dec 1999 04:00:53 GMT Organization: Internet Reviews ~Lines: 101 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <83s6pl$pfu$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer10.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 945921653 26110 (None) 140.142.17.39 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22355 Keywords: author=rhodes X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer10.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21544 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2535 GALAXY QUEST A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2 Crash! Scrape! It's hard piloting a large spacecraft through a space station if the only practice you've ever had is with cardboard models on a television series. This is just the quandary that the crew of the NSEA Protector find themselves in when aliens from space, who have seen their "historical documents," namely their old television series, take the crew off to fight a real space battle. Needless to say, our reluctant heroes have no idea, well no real idea, what to do. In Dean Parisot's side-splittingly funny GALAXY QUEST, this delicious concept is milked for every joke possible. Setting a perfect comedic tone, the movie is a delightful and imaginative parody of STAR TREK, right down to their hokey conventions with adoring fans, dressed in full and authentic series regalia. The campy movie never veers into slapstick, and the ensemble cast plays every scene with complete seriousness and believability. Given the volume and the frequency of the laughter that the film produces, it could be thought of as the PG comedic equivalent of THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. GALAXY QUEST makes silly ideas so likeably funny that you can't control your laughter, even if you try. Leading the crew of the invincible Protector is Commander Peter Quincy Taggart (Tim Allen as Jason Nesmit), whose signature line is: "Never give up! Never surrender!" Nesmit is an extroverted, egocentric actor who plays the convention crowds like he's a rock star. The rest of the cast from the series, which ended twenty years ago, can barely tolerate his grandstanding, especially a British-trained, Shakespearean actor Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman) who plays Dr. Lazarus. A blonde Sigourney Weaver plays actress Gwen DeMarco, whose part in the series, as Lt. Tawny Madison, required her to repeat the commander's commands. He speaks, she repeats, the computer obeys and that's it. Needless to say, DeMarco has never been pleased with her highly limited role. Rounding out the crew is Tech Sergeant Chen (Tony Shalhoub as Fred Kwan) and Lt. Laredo (Daryl Mitchell as Tommy Webber). Every science fiction show needs lots of expendable crew members. Sam Rockwell, as Guy Fleegman, plays just such a character who died in his episode before the first commercial. Fleegman, a would-be actor who spends his time hosting the conventions, worms his way in to join the rest of the cast on their one real mission. Stealing the show is Enrico Colantoni as Mathesar, the leader of the Thermians who have come to enlist the aid of their beloved heroes. With voices rather like porpoises and gestures that blend many animal behaviors, the Thermians produce instant mirth whenever they are on the set. The obsequious Thermians model their lives on the lessons they've learned from Commander Taggart and his crew. They've even reconstructed the Protector, right down to gadgets that they have no idea how to work but are sure the real crew will. The film's purposely ridiculous monsters range from innocent-looking alien babies with sharp teeth to lumbering rock monsters to a grotesquely rotund pig, all done with spoofing, not frightening, in mind. Although Nesmit thinks fighting a real battle is "the role of a lifetime," his fellow actors look on in horror, especially after they watch the ruthless alien Sarris (Robin Sachs) torture one of the captured Thermians. With a constant look of "Oh my God, I can't believe I'm doing this," the actors try their best to fake it. Although most of them convincingly do and say the right things, Fleegman doesn't have the same ad-libbing skills as the others. ("There's a red thingee moving toward the green thingee," he says while reading the display indicating that they are about to be attacked by vastly superior forces.) For all of those scriptwriters who don't think through the logic of their stories, the movie shows what can happen. Madison's life is put in danger as she is forced to work in a ship designed by a bunch of writers. "Whoever wrote this episode should die!" she screams with venom. Only flagging briefly when it tries momentarily to get serious, the parody is likely to appeal as well to 10-year-olds as to senior citizens. There's even a "Gilligan's Island" joke. Yes, the Thermians think it's a documentary, and they feel quite sorry for those poor people stuck on that island. GALAXY QUEST runs 1:42. It is rated PG for silly monsters and a little mild profanity. The film would be fine for all ages, but the monsters may briefly frighten some impressionable young kids. My son Jeffrey, age 10, gave the film ****. He laughed loudly and often. He was there with some neighbors and most of his fifth grade class, who enthusiastically gave the film *** 1/2 to ****. Words I heard afterwards from them included: imaginative, exciting, hilarious, great plot, best movie in a long time, etc. The kids were blown away by the movie. Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:28 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: moviephan2@aol.com (Nick Lyons) ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 23 Dec 1999 04:26:52 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com ~Lines: 47 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <83s8ac$10c4$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer11.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 945923212 33156 (None) 140.142.17.38 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22367 Keywords: author=lyons X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer11.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21565 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2537 Galaxy Quest Review At first I was intrigued by the strange cast and odd creatures on the Galaxy Quest trailer, but that was before I saw the film. Now my view has completely changed. It's time to embrace for impact, because this is a very bumpy ride. The story begins with the cast of Galaxy Quest including: Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), Gwen Demarco (Sigourney Weaver) signing autographs at a convention. They meet fans who dress up in costumes, fans who worship the ground they walk on, and a group of aliens called Thermians who believe that they are the ultimate saviors against the dreaded alien colony lead by Sarris (Robin Sachs). Of course they are unaware of this until they actually begin performing their duties, and meet the ugly aliens themselves. Thus begins the long adventure to help save the Thermians. The movie plays like a really bad Star Trek episode, in fact it's worse. I don't even think Trekkies will appreciate this weak spoof, because quite frankly it's just not funny. All the jokes are basically collected observations from the series. One such continuous joke involves a simple crew member who believes he will die in space, because no extra on the TV show ever lives, as proven in the Star Trek series. Creative jokes like this may seem like a clever idea, but not when they are used to death. A person can only take so much. We do not need to be tortured, especially when you have to pay for it. It's pretty bad when even Tim Allen is pitiful. It's not like I expected an Oscar worthy performance form him, but a few laughs would have been helpful. Speaking of acting, 2 fine talents were wasted as well. Sigourney Weaver was here to show cleavage, well at least it worked. It's pretty bad when the only entertaining value of the film is cleavage. It just shows you how disgraceful the film really is. Alan Rickman however was not so lucky. After his last hit (Dogma) he embarrasses himself by doing this sloppy mess. It's just a shame to see talented actors and actresses throw their ability away. When the film couldn't get any worse, thankfully some nice special effects pop up. Like many big blockbusters (Armageddon, The Haunting to name a few) they rely heavily on effects to help boost the film's box office results. 9 out of 10 times it works, but unfortunately we have to shell out hard earned money and suffer through this junk. When will it stop? I am getting tired of being suckered into seeing such trash. It may look fine and dandy, but we need to at least have a story. Is that too much to ask? Obviously it is. When Galaxy Quest finally ends, it literally crash lands. Aside from the impressive looking creatures from Industrial Light And Magic, it's an embarrassment to the cast, and it's embarrassing to the science fiction genre. It's not the least bit fun, nor was it entertaining. The only place where this movie belongs is to infinity and beyond. Grade: D- www.chud.com http://jump.to/moviepage From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:28 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.axxsys.net!logbridge.uoregon.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Bob Bloom ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 24 Dec 1999 19:48:35 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 74 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <840imj$kos$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer34.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 946064915 21276 (None) 140.142.17.40 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22384 Keywords: author=bloom X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer34.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21584 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2538 Galaxy Quest (1999) 2 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell and Daryl Mitchell. Imagine that the cast of the original "Star Trek" series were recruited by a group of aliens who thought what they saw on TV was the real thing to help them battle an evil alien menace. How do you think William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan and the rest would react? Well, that is the one-joke premise of "Galaxy Quest," a movie that is funnier than its flimsy concept. The humor of "Galaxy Quest" is not so much in the situations, but in the recognition. The story by David Howard, who co-authored the screenplay with Robert Gordon, relies on our familiarity not so much with "Star Trek" but with a culture that blurs the line between reality and fiction as well as the concept of cultdom and fanaticism. The funniest scenes in "Galaxy Quest" are not those in space, but the ones on Earth in which the "crew" of the NSEA Protector attend an annual convention and are besieged by fans who ask questions about minutiae concerning that old TV series that the bored and humiliated actors don't know or even care about. The cast is headed by Tim Allen as Jason Nesmith, alias Commander Peter Quincy Taggart, who is abducted by the childlike Thermians from the Klatu Nebula to help them defeat the evil Sarris. Allen does not do a Shatner impersonation, but he exudes the right amount of ego and hambone to remind you of the flamboyant "Star Trek" actor. Nesmith then recruits his co-stars to help out. His crew is played by Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Daryl Mitchell and Sam Rockwell. Shalhoub and Rockwell walk away with the film. Shalhoub is Fred Kwan, alias Tech. Sgt. Chen, a laid-back kind of guy who goes along with the flow. For the most part he remains cool and unflustered by the extraordinary circumstances in which he his thrown. Rockwell, seen recently as the psychotic killer Billy the Kid in "The Green Mile", plays Guy, who appeared in one episode of the "Galaxy Quest" TV show and was killed off in the first five minutes. He fears that real life will imitate art during this mission and that he will be the one to die in battle with the Sarris. After all, he reasons, his character didn't even have a last name. The entire cast seems to have fun with their roles. Rickman as the resident alien continually complains about how he used to be a serious actor. And, shades of "Star Trek," he always carps about Allen's Nesmith/Taggart stealing his best lines and earning all the glory. "Galaxy Quest" is an enjoyable movie. The special effects are so-so, but this is more of a character-driven science fiction comedy than one relying on lasers and explosions to entertain. "Star Trek" fans will recognize some of the veiled references and situations, but you needn't be a Trekker (or even a Trekkie) to have fun with "Galaxy Quest." It may be a bit too violent for the very young moviegoers, but older children and parents may have a good time together watching some make-believe heroes transform themselves into the real McCoys. Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:28 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!logbridge.uoregon.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Michael Dequina ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 25 Dec 1999 19:04:22 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 69 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <8434fm$11n6$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer23.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 946148662 34534 (None) 140.142.17.40 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22395 Keywords: author=dequina X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer23.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21594 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2539 _Galaxy_Quest_ (PG) *** (out of ****) Is there an easier target in all of contemporary pop culture than _Star_Trek_? The hambone acting, the cheesy sets, the ridiculously convoluted scientific jargon, and--the pièce de résistance--the stereotypically geeky, obsessive fan following--what is there not to poke good-natured fun at? So the makers of the thinly-veiled _Trek_ spoof _Galaxy_Quest_ have it fairly easy; the set-up is all there, and all that's needed is the follow-through. Happily, unlike a number of recent cinematic send-ups, _Galaxy_ doesn't drop the ball. A big help is that writers David Howard and Robert Gordon have come up with a clever story on which to hang the _Trek_ gags. The film takes its title from a _Trek_-like sci-fi TV series whose cult following is stronger than ever well over a decade after cancellation. And, like the original _Trek_ cast, the only work the _Quest_ crew seems to get these days are appearances at conventions. But the role of their lives comes when a group of space aliens called Thermians, having seen all of the _Quest_ episodes and believing them to be actual spacefaring adventurers, enlists the crew's aid in combating an evil monster. This framework gives director Dean Parisot ample room to stage some effects-heavy action sequences. The younger members in the audience will especially enjoy these sequences, such as some elaborate space chases and an encounter with a rock monster. This is not to say that adults won't find enjoyment from these sections as well, for all the effects work in the film is first-rate. What will appeal to the older set even more, however, is the smart, edgy humor, which begins with the characters. Tim Allen plays the pompous Shatner-esque Jason Nesmith, who played Peter Quincy Taggart, the commander of _Quest_'s central spaceship, the Protector. Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver) is eager to shake the stigma of being the show's token cheesecake, Lt. Tawny Madison, the "communications expert" whose only job was to repeat everything the computer said. Alexander Dane's (Alan Rickman) years of cutting his acting teeth on the Shakespearean stage went down the drain once he was typecast in his _Quest_ role, half-alien Dr. Lazarus. The other crew members for this mission are Tech Sgt. Chen, played by the non-Asian Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub); Laredo, the Protector's 10-year-old navigator, played by the now-adult Tommy Webber (Daryl Mitchell); and Guy Fleegman (Sam Rockwell), a rabid _Quest_ fan who once had a bit part in the show as a nondescript officer. As anyone with a passing familiarity with _Star_Trek_--and thus the world of _Galaxy_Quest_--would know, the nondescript officer is always the first to go, and thus Guy fears for his life while in space. Clichés such as these are gleefully satirized throughout the film, such as touchstone mantras (not surprisingly, Alexander is sick of reciting his) and defused bombs whose countdown timers stop only at the one-second mark. Not escaping the aim of the writers are those fanatical fans who know every last technical detail of the show. Of course, the real test of the jokes is if they are playable to a _Trek_-oblivious viewer, and no one needs to have any familiarity in that area to get them (though it certainly helps). As is the case with all family-friendly comedies, _Galaxy_Quest_ isn't above some straightfaced would-be tear-wringing moments, but the forays into cheap sentimentality are easily forgiven when everyone involved in the production is of such high spirit and intelligence. When I say that _Galaxy_Quest_ is a fun time for the entire family, I mean it; it's clean, has all the requisite eye candy and slapstick for the younger set, and--most distinguishing of all--an uncommon level of sophistication for the adults. Michael Dequina twotrey@juno.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com | mrbrown@iname.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown CinemaReview Magazine: http://www.CinemaReview.com on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL Instant Messenger: MrBrown23 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:28 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: "Mark O'Hara" ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 26 Dec 1999 18:23:04 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 122 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <845me8$1616$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer25.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 946232584 38950 (None) 140.142.17.39 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22407 Keywords: author=o'hara X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer25.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21608 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2540 Galaxy Quest (1999) A Film Review by Mark O'Hara It's a nice tradition that we have on Christmas Day - seeing a movie. Last year it was the hilarious Irish comedy "Waking Ned Devine." This year we took the kids to "Galay Quest." If you have heard good reviews about this film, believe them. Even after all of the television series and movies about spaceships and militaristic goings-on in space - and especially after the parodies poking fun at this fare - "Galaxy Quest" handles itself with originality. The film takes off on the groundbreaker of them all, "Star Trek." The cast of the fictional television show "Galaxy Quest" now appears at conventions, where ardent fans - many of whom dress up to emulate their favorite characters - gather and exchange ideas and spend money. Tim Allen plays the commander of the ship - the William Shatner character. Allen's name is Jason Nesmith, the actor who portrays Commander Peter Quincy Taggart. Eighteen years after the show's cancellation, Nesmith is still making money from these conventions. It seems like the entire cast also enjoy the benefits of their former stardom. These players include Sigourney Weaver as actress Gwen DeMarco, who plays Lt. Tawny Madison. Her main role in the show, back in the 'seventies and early 'eighties, was to show cleavage, along with repeating the computer's pronouncements. A pretty face. Tony Shalhoub plays Tommy Webber/Tech. Sgt. Chen. Daryll Mitchell plays Lt. Laredo (he was a child when the show was on the air). Alan Rickman plays Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus, and Sam Rockwell plays Crewman #6 in Episode 81. Well, all of these second-rate actors seem to be eking out a living from their long-past celebrity. And they are all fairly disillusioned and bored. That is, until Nesmith convinces them to go on what they think is a paying gig. They believe these fans dressed as aliens are taking them to another guest appearance, so they might hawk autographs and field questions from obsessive fans; quickly they discover their sponsors are actual aliens, a race that has studied the television show, believing it to be "historical documents." Ergo, the aliens have constructed virtually everything they witnessed onscreen. With innocent and gleeful faces, they display weapons, ships and extensive technology that they have somehow engineered and constructed after merely glancing it through the "Quest" transmissions. Besides serving as a basic premise for the story, these technologies make for a hilarious conceit, as the crew members seem baffled by the science they are faced with using. The aliens, of course, are convinced the actors constitute the veteran crew of "Protector," whose motto is the commander's catch line, "Never give up; never surrender." So the washed-up actors masquerade as their actual characters, unwilling to disillusion the extremely respectful aliens, who have appointed them to helm the embodiment of the fictional ship. It turns out, by the way, that the actors simply have to duplicate their actions from the show in order to run the gadgets on the real ship. The bad guys here are a race of green reptilian aggressors, who are determined to destroy the good aliens - the Thermians. The main conflict traces the fight with these quasi-reptiles, who are after the Thermian-made device called the Omega 13. Exactly what this device is, no one knows, as it was mentioned only vaguely on the T.V. show. Naturally, Jason Nesmith appears completely outclassed by the alien general. What is fascinating is watching all of the riffs and comic twists that result from the numerous clichés and conventions set up through the plot. Will the actors stop their petty bickering long enough actually to help their admirers from deep space? Will the rabid fans back on Earth get satisfaction from seeing the next appearance of the crew? The film is well directed by Dean Parisot. Its pace is quick, lending a loose comic tone; the timing also enhances the many allusions and self-reflexive gimmicks. Parisot capitalizes on countless references to ploys frequently spotted in "Star Trek" and similar shows, and even in the "Alien" movies, in which Sigourney Weaver starred as Ripley. Tim Allen's nonchalance is important to his success in the type of double role he plays here. Though he is a hopeless, alcoholic jerk, Nesmith is somehow ennobled during his stint as the real Commander Taggart, and earns the credit bestowed upon him. It's Allen's best performance since "The Santa Clause." Weaver does a nice job playing the aging actress portraying Tawny Madison. In one scene she snaps at another crew member that, even though her job is merely to repeat the computer's words, she will do it with relish. Weaver is best in the subtle comedy resulting from her asides to other crew members. Tony Shalhoub proves his reliability again, showing off his knack for excelling at widely different roles. His Tech Sgt. Chen is an air-headed version of Scotty or Geordi or O'Brien or Torres. The change he undergoes is one of the funnier transitions in the film. One small criticism I have is that Daryll Mitchell's character - Tommy Webber as Lt. Laredo - goes through a similar change in character. Here a parody succumbs to the very conventions it tries to undermine, though even this concession is done with charm. Finally, Alan Rickman does perhaps the most solid job of support. He's a classically trained Shakespearean actor, and very unhappy at having to don the same bony headpiece to further his failed career. His Dr. Lazarus is a stone-faced boor whose feud with Nesmith never fails to elicit chuckles. A favorite of my daughter's was Mathesar, the leader of the good aliens, played by Enrico Colantoni. His humming, hesitating voice is itself a piece of hilarious shtick, and the relationship he builds with the incompetent Earthlings is endearing. Stan Winston's shop did the special effects for the film, and produced smooth work. The bad alien costumes are particularly compelling, and one scene at the end is remarkable in its realism. Watch for Allen in a knock-down funny fight against an alien pig lizard. After watching the documentary "Trekkies" this past summer, we found this film to be a light variation. Both films are a delight, and both convey a sense of ambivalence toward sci-fi fans (much like the tone of a Shatner sketch on "Saturday Night Live" in which Capt. Kirk lashes out at overzealous "Trek" fans, only to apologize later). Ultimately, "Quest" recognizes how the heart of a show like this is the fans and their loyalty. For any fans of space movies, especially those set in the microcosms of ships, "Galaxy Quest" (though it has a lame title) is a must-see. Its constant references to the genre it parodies make it an intelligent and crisply written work. And it's just plain fun to sit back and laugh at this light but smart humor. See it before going back to school! ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:29 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: leeper@mtgbcs.ho.lucent.com (Mark R Leeper) ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 28 Dec 1999 08:23:50 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 78 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <849s2m$tfq$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer26.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 946369431 30202 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22423 Keywords: author=leeper X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer26.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21638 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2549 GALAXY QUEST A film review by Mark R. Leeper Capsule: What would happen if the cast of "Star Trek" actors was whisked into space and told they had to fight real aliens? Aliens who do not understand the concept of fiction and who believe in the crew of "Galaxy Quest" borrow the actors to help save their race. The film is consistently amusing but it never becomes any more than a one- joke film. Worth seeing once. Rating: 6 (0 to 10), +1 (-4 to +4) The cast rivalries of "Star Trek" actors, and the conventions of "Star Trek" as well as "Star Trek" conventions, all get a fairly loving shellacking in an enjoyable comedy that asks if the cast of "Star Trek" had to fight real aliens, how well would they do. Back in the early 1970s there was a science fiction TV show that would be immortal to its fans, "Galaxy Quest." Even today the die-hard fans want more. Let's get this part out of the way so we can proceed. Tim Allen plays Jason Nesmith who on the show played Comdr. Peter Quincy Taggart. Alan Rickman plays Alexander Dane who played Dr. Lazarus of Tev'Meck. Sigourney Weaver plays Gwen DeMarco who played Lt. Tawny Madison. Tony Shalhoub, who does not look the slightest bit Chinese, plays Fred Kwan who played Tech Sergeant Chen. And Daryl Mitchell plays Tommy Webber who played Lt. Laredo. With each but possibly Laredo, the writers were clearly thinking of a corresponding member of the "Star Trek" cast. In spite of the fact that Galaxy Quest has been off the air for many years the cast continues to be a hot item at science fiction media conventions. Just about everyone in the cast is tired of being type- cast, but they have to contend with the fame and popularity they got from the TV show. Most tired is Alexander Dane who at one time played Richard III to raving audiences but now is reduced to repeating the tire TV show catch-phrases over and over, ad nauseum. And all are a little tire of how Jason Nesmith, who played their leader, basks in all the glory at the conventions and treats the other cast members like decoration. He behaves like a rude, ego-centric jerk. When four teens in alien costumes ask Nesmith to see their space ship and fight an alien for them he plays along with the gag. Then he finds out that they in truth are aliens, their spaceship is authentic, and their foes are all too real. Soon the whole crew is pulled involuntarily into the adventure. For once they have no script, no director, no lines, and they are in real danger. As a story about the actors we have come to know so well from "Star Trek," this film is passable but cliched. By depending on each other they build firm relationships of mutual respect. Outward Bound probably has hundreds of stories just as moving. As a space opera adventure this film is fairly lame. That is not the point, of course, but it might have been a better movie with a little more thought about the adventure. In general the audience is a step or two ahead of the characters. The greatest value of the film is the lampooning of the "Star Trek" iconography. And in doing that it is considerably more adept than anything Mel Brooks has done for a good long time. Nobody requires great dramatic scenes in a film like this. Tim Allen's acting was more than sufficient and his timing adequate. He might have issued one little "To infinity and beyond," if that would not have been mixing metaphors. Sigourney Weaver did not have a lot to do besides wear a tight suit well, which she still can do surprisingly luster, half-speed performance from character actor Tony Shalhoub. He is one of the actors I tend to watch for, but not for the sort of effort he seemed to give this role. He looked like he just felt out of place. The ideal length for this material would have been as a ten-minute skit. It is impressive that director Dean Parisot kept the chuckles coming as long as he did. This is a one-viewing film, but pleasant enough. I give it a 6 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. Mark R. Leeper mleeper@lucent.com Copyright 1999 Mark R. Leeper From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Dec 29 13:30:29 1999 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: "Harvey S. Karten" ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 28 Dec 1999 08:25:14 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 101 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <849s5a$s0o$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer16.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 946369514 28696 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #22432 Keywords: author=karten X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer16.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:21623 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2542 GALAXY QUEST Reviewed by Harvey Karten DreamWorks Pictures Director: Harold Ramis Writer: Robert Gordon Cast: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Robin Sachs How would you explain what an actor is to an adult who never heard a radio program, watched TV, or went to the theater or a movie? When you think about it, this would be pretty difficult. After all, how do you make clear to someone of such a vastly different culture that people who pretend to be other people are entertaining? This is precisely the dilemma faced by a crew of aging performers in "Galaxy Quest," a consistently funny, good-natured, uncynical parody of a popular TV program that was cancelled after running for three years despite its hard core of dedicated fans. "Star Trek," a series that lasted from 1979 to 1982 and featured (by today's standards) pretty chintzy special effects, was to some extent a cult offering, its devotees actually memorizing details of the various episodes so well that they could quote chapter and verse what happened in which episode in much the way that a Jehovah's Witness could do a similar task with the Bible. By spoofing the series in a congenial way, Dan Parisot gets solid performances from a fine crew of actors, making good use of a script written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. Though the movie's targeted audience is probably bright, albeit geeky, teens and college students, "Galaxy Quest" could conceivably be appreciated by the little ones, its PG rating based on a little cartoon violence and a couple of briefly sensual scenes. In propelling his lampoon of the TV series, director Parisot plays up the theme of laid-off actors. Just what do well- known performers become when their employment is canceled? (In the case of "Cheers," for example, we know that one such entertainer went on to far greater fame with his own TV program, another has taken on some powerful roles in movies, while some of the others are doing not as well as before, gaining little parts in off-Broadway plays and in movie cartoon voiceovers.) The guys in "Galaxy Quest" (read: "Star Trek") are pleased as punch to hear the wild applause at the special conventions which the devotees attend to see some old screenings and collect autographs, but none of them are doing anything worth writing home about. One of the intriguing aspects of "Galaxy Quest" is that each actor plays another actor who plays yet another actor, providing a field day for semioticians. In the principal role of Jason Nesmith, Tim Allen doubles as Commander Peter Quincy Taggart--the role taken by William Shatner in the TV series--while Alan Rickman performs in the guise of Alexander Dane, a lizard-like alien who befriended the crew in that very same TV program. With Sigourney Weaver as Gwen DeMarco (here performing as Tawny Madison), Tony Shalhoub as Fred Kwan and doubling as Sergeant Chen, and Daryl Mitchell as Tommy Webber aka Laredo, these characters are about to see life's imitating art. One day a crew of friendly, stiff octopi from another planet- -who have been able to take on the physical appearance of human beings and have their language immediately translated--approach the cynical and drunken Nesmith, begging him to save their planet from evil green giants led by Sarris (Robin Sachs). Having watched episodes of Star Trek, the leader, Mathesar (Enrico Colantoni), and his "people" have no idea that the programs are unreal, meant simply for entertainment. Considering the episodes to be actual historical documents, they convince Nesmith and his colleagues to beam up to their planet and use their ingenuity to rid them of unfriendly aliens. What follows is one circumstance after another as the fearful actors--who have become discouraged and misanthropic from being out of work for so long--gradually become proud fighters for their alien friends, thereby gaining a whole new outlook on life. Essentially, Dan Parisot does a good job proving the hipness of existential philosophy: you are what you commit yourself to doing. and if your commitment gives you pride and genuine purpose, what more can you ask of life? The comic tone is evoked by the rigid walks and bizarre talk of the friendly aliens, by the confused and often edgy banter of the human crew determined to save their pals, and by the dialogue which parodies the corny lines of the TV show. "I won't say that stupid line one more time," insists Dane as he prepares to meet his devotees--who expect him to repeat the watchwords of the show. The actors increasingly and unconsciously follow the dialogue they maintained from their 1979-1982 scripts as they meet the challenges. "Galaxy Quest" is altogether a holiday surprise, a movie with a trailer that could make a potential moviegoer think twice before paying his money and taking his chances, but one which comes through as an congenial, occasionally laugh-out-loud satire that has a broad affection for its target. Rated PG. Running Time: 104 minutes. (C) 1999 Harvey Karten, film_critic@compuserve.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Mar 1 23:18:10 2000 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newspump.monmouth.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Marty Mapes Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 26 Feb 2000 18:15:16 GMT Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Lines: 88 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <89957k$djus$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer27.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 951588916 446428 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #23274 Keywords: author=mapes X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer27.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:22368 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2609 Galaxy Quest A film review by Marty Mapes Copyright 2000 Marty Mapes **1/2 (out of 4) You're dragged to a party after a Star Trek convention, and you get trapped in a corner by a "uniformed" nerd who thinks he's interesting. He's telling you his idea for a screenplay, called GALAXY QUEST, where William Shatner- and Leonard Nimoy-types are at a Con, and they meet some REAL aliens, but they think they're just eccentric fans. "Ho-hum," you yawn, and politely excuse yourself to go find your date so you can get out of this nuthouse. Well, believe it or not, somebody actually produced GALAXY QUEST (namely, Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth). It's as bad as you would imagine, and yet it's as good as it could possibly be. Tim Allen plays Jason Nesmith, an actor on the TV show Galaxy Quest. He's at a sci-fi convention with his "crew" (Alan Rickman as Sir Alex, who wears an elaborate alien headpiece for the show and who longs for some real acting work; Sigourney Weaver as the female officer who has to wear a revealing outfit; and Tony Shalhoub who looks like he's having fun as the ship's engineer.) Nesmith often takes side jobs playing his character at private parties. One of the "parties" turns out to be thrown by four real space aliens who have built a ship exactly like the one on the show. They invite the captain and his crew to their home planet. Once there, the demure, polite aliens get to the point -- they ask the crew if they wouldn't mind saving their world from an evil alien race, just like they do every week on TV. I say GALAXY QUEST is as bad as you would imagine because there is very little you can do with this concept. It's one joke, repeated in as many ways as will fit into 90 minutes. What's worse is that the joke is a specific parody, and if you've never followed Star Trek, the movie just won't make sense. The second-worst thing the filmmakers could have done is to make a joke of the movie's TV show, which they did. Cardboard sets and cornball dialogue get a few cheap laughs, but the movie would have been better if the TV show were more plausible. Part of the humor in GALAXY QUEST relies on mistaking what's real for what's fake. By making the show cheap and hokey, they lost some of that comic leverage for the bigger jokes. The WORST thing they could have done is to make a joke of the TV show's actors (the movie's characters). But they didn't, and because the characters are not parodies, because they have real depth, the movie is as good as it could possibly be. Tim Allen in particular breaths life into his role. He drinks and has a huge ego. But on the other hand, he loves his role, he loves his fans, and he loves signing autographs and answering questions. In other words, Allen brings a unique, vivid personality to the role instead of just settling for a bad William Shatner imitation. If Academy Awards were based on the ratio of performance quality to source material, Allen's score might earn him a nomination. Clearly, GALAXY QUEST takes some well-deserved shots at Star Trek, like the elaborate headpieces and the revealing outfit. The movie also has some funny lines that we've always wanted to hear on Star Trek. The expendable crewmate manning a computer console calls out "Hey guys, there's a red thingy movin' toward the green thingy. I think we're the green thingy." Sigourney Weaver, crawling through the ventilation to get to the bridge, says "Ducts. Why is it always ducts?" But taken as a whole, GALAXY QUEST is just a parody. And parody is only funny when you know the source material. GALAXY QUEST could never stand on its own, and in the annals of filmmaking, it won't get its own entry. If it is mentioned at all it will only be as a footnote to the Star Trek movies. If you're a Trekkie who doesn't take it too seriously, you will probably have a good laugh at GALAXY QUEST. You should take a look. But if you don't know the difference between Star Trek, Star Wars, and Star Search, then you might as well see something else. -- ___________ Marty Mapes mmapes@moviehabit.com Movie Habit http://www.moviehabit.com "There's nothing different about any of them except the neckties." -- Alice Brady, referring to men in The Gay Divorcee From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Apr 4 13:26:24 2000 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!news-peer-europe.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!howland.erols.net!pants.skycache.com.MISMATCH!triton.skycache.com!logbridge.uoregon.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "R.L. Strong" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (1999) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 2 Apr 2000 19:38:22 GMT Organization: SBC Internet Services Lines: 141 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <8c87je$gdos$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer21.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 954704302 538396 (None) 140.142.17.39 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #23800 Keywords: author=strong X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer21.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:22890 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2675 "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. From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Apr 17 00:10:45 2000 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.ida.liu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!logbridge.uoregon.edu!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Greg King Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Galaxy Quest (2000) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 16 Apr 2000 18:52:59 GMT Organization: None Lines: 63 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <8dd26b$bnkk$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer03.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 955911179 384660 (None) 140.142.17.38 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #24074 Keywords: author=king X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer03.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:23166 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2685 GALAXY QUEST (M). (Dreamworks/UIP) Director: Dean Parosit Stars: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Daryl Mitchell, Sam Rockwell, Enrico Colantoni, Robin Sachs, Patrick Breen, Missi Pyle, Jed Rees, Justin Long. There have been plenty of sci-fi spoofs before. But whereas films like Mel Brooks' Spaceballs and Tim Burton's Mars Attacks were uneven and only fitfully funny, Galaxy Quest is a real winner. While it mercilessly lampoons many of the familiar clichés and characters of those cheesy old sci-fi series like Star Trek, etc, Galaxy Quest still possesses a healthy reverence for the genre as a whole. Twenty years ago the sci-fi action series Galaxy Quest was a cult hit on television. When the show was cancelled, the stars found themselves forever typecast as gallant space heroes, but have found good roles hard to come by. For the past two decades they have existed mainly by appearing at regular conventions for die hard fans and opening new shopping centres. Unexpectedly they are offered the ultimate gig when the last remaining Thermians come to Earth seeking help to defeat the merciless Sarris, a galactic invader who has destroyed their home planet. The Thermians have picked up television signals from Earth and have interpreted the various shows (including Gilligan's Island) as important historical documents. The naive and trusting Thermians place the responsibility of ensuring their survival and the defeat of Sarris on the shoulders of a bunch of actors who have become disillusioned with the heroic characters with which they are synonymous. While on the tv series, their daring exploits looked so easy, with the help of cheap special effects and miniature props. This time they're playing for real, with the future of the universe at stake. Yet, in defending the hapless Thermians, the crew finally discover exactly what their show and their characters have meant to many people over the years. Dean Parosit, whose previous film was the little seen black comedy Home Fries, maintains a cracking pace throughout, and directs with an infectious enthusiasm. He is supported by a wonderful cast, whose performances seem to capture the spirit of this enjoyable piece of nonsense. Tim Allen is perfectly cast as the egotistical Nesmith, who basks in the glory of his fans yet holds them, and his fellow co-stars, in contempt. Sporting a blonde wig, Sigourney Weaver looks rather like Jane Fonda, circa Barbarella, but she seems to be having fun sending up the image of stereotypical female roles in sci-fi films. Alan Rickman is delightfully droll and deadpan as the veteran Shakespearean actor who resents being remembered purely for his undemanding offsider role as the loyal alien lieutenant. Sam Rockwell, from Lawn Dogs and The Green Mile, etc, brings some energy to his role as the plucky comic relief, the extra along for the ride, who constantly bemoans the fact that, given his nonentity status, he will most likely be the first one killed. The clever script is peppered with in-jokes, and contains some sly digs at the unwanted baggage that is a part of being famous. The excessive nature of many fans is also explored with biting humour. The special effects are tremendous, as are some of the battle sequences. Somewhat surprisingly, Galaxy Quest has more snap and action than many other recent sci-fi dramas that have taken themselves a little too seriously. *** greg king http://www.netau.com.au/gregking