GalaxyQuest Review
01/06/2000 . Source: Berge 

Trekkies, Trekkers and general sci-fi fanatics have always been an easy target at which to take potshots.

Buy GalaxyQuest in the USA - or Buy GalaxyQuest in the UK

Even William Shatner, the man who commanded the infamous USS Enterprise in the original Star Trek series, took a poke during a "Saturday Night Live" sketch which had him telling his fans to "get a life" during one of these super-fan conventions.

Trepidatious I was, going into this film, expecting many such putdowns and potshots galore, but delighted I came out, having seen a wholly entertaining film, content to tap above the belt, while embracing the charm and humor of the genre and its many fans.

PLOT
The aging crew of a famous cult TV sci-fi show find themselves bored and embarrassed at many of the fan-based conventions which they attend for money. That is until the one day that a real-life pack of alien beings beam them aboard their spaceship, and ask for their help in combating their true evil nemesis.

CRITIQUE
This is one, big, fun, entertaining, nacho-munchin' good time at the movie theatres! It's always a delight to see such a well-written movie that enjoys itself as much as it lets the audience in on the fun.

Plenty of in-jokes don't even add up to an iota of the complete entertainment value that such a parody film provides, in fact, parody aside, this movie stands on its own as one fun, original, special-effects laden flick for the masses. That's right, even Mrs. JoBlo, who has never been afraid to voice her complete disinterest in a certain series called Star Trek, loved this movie from beginning to end!

Much like myself, she enjoyed the fact that it was based on a creative premise, with the TV crew visiting a real spaceship and having to resort to their own fake specific TV strengths in order to play along with the actual aliens. But also the fact that the film was so rich and detailed in its own sci-fi world, in which it actually had you believing that such a thing was really possible.

Great writing, solid special effects, and certainly a tip of the hat to both the director and writers for understanding that the best way to present such a parody to the world is to love, nurture and most of all, appreciate where its fan base is coming from.

These guys "get the joke" and have presented us with an inventive piece of entertainment camp to be enjoyed by anyone ready to check out Tim Allen as a commander (Great job!), Alan Rickman as the Mr. Spock-act-a-like (Another fine performance!) and Sigourney Weaver, looking ever the hot, as Gwen.

Of course, these dudes were also shrewd enough to recognize the film-geek/comic-book lovers drool factor, and conveniently had Gwen spent the last 20 minutes of the film running around with half her top open, with nothing more than bra holding up her goodies.

Interestingly enough, I noted at least two such scenes featuring Ms. Weaver's bonbons in the TV commercials which were conspicuously absent in the feature film (DVD uncut perhaps?). Cleavage aside, this movie really is for the whole family. It's funny, it has some really cool creatures and special effects, a heart-warming story and even a very slick ending, tied directly into one of those super-fan convention halls.

Very cool! In fact, comedy-wise, the two secondary characters from Tony Shalhoub and Sam Rockwell invariably steal the show. So if you're looking for a good movie to take your mind of some of the more serious stuff coming out this time of year, check this one out and thank me in the morning.

And I will "never give up, never surrender" my positive point of view on this film (Yeah, I know it's corny, but under these circumstances, I figure it'd stick.)

Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:

Actor Tim Allen received $50,000 for voicing the role of Buzz Lightyear in the original TOY STORY (7/10). For the sequel, TOY STORY 2 (8/10), Tim received a cool $5,000,000.

Interesting to note that Tim, real name Tim Allen Dick, spent 28 months in jail after being arrested for drug-dealing back in 1978. Fast-forward to 1999, and Tim is one of the best-paid entertainers around, receiving a reported $1.25 Million per episode of "Home Improvement" during the entire 1999 season. Tim has nine brothers and sisters.

Sigourney Weaver's birth name is Susan Alexandra Weaver. She apparently changed her name after reading "The Great Gatsby". Her first role in a movie lasted about six seconds in Woody Allen's Oscar-winning 1977 feature ANNIE HALL. Sigourney reportedly received a hefty $50 check for her days' work.

In 1997, she received $11,000,000 for her role as Ripley in ALIEN: RESURRECTION. Her father, Pat Weaver, pioneered the desk-and-talk-show format back during his days as president of NBC-TV from 1953-55, including two shows that are still around today, NBC's "Today" and "Tonight" shows.

Sam Rockwell, who plays the first-name-only character of "Guy" in this movie, can also be seen in another film out now called THE GREEN MILE (4/10). He plays the convict "Wild Bill" in that one.

Actor Enrico Colantino, who plays the alien chief Mathesar in this film, attended Yale Drama School, but originally hails from the area North of the United States called Canada. Toronto, Ontario, to be more specific.

Much of director Dean Parisot's career behind the lens has been spent on TV shows such as "ER", "The Marshal" and "Northern Exposure". His first cinematic feature was the 1998 Drew Barrymore film entitled HOME FRIES. This film is his second.

RATING: 8 /10 --> Great movie

Review Date: December 28, 1999
Director: Dean Parisot
Writers: Robert Gordon and David Howard
Producers: Suzanne Ellis, Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth
Actors: Tim Allen as Jason Nesmith/Commander Peter Quincy Taggart
Sigourney Weaver as Gwen DeMarco/Lt. Tawny Madison
Alan Rickman as Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus of Tev'Meck
Year of Release: 1999

This article was kindly contributed by Berge over at Jo Blo's Movie Emporium. Copyright remains with Berge's site.