Review: Galaxy Quest (1999)

[R.L. Strong]

"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.