Spaceballs




You went over my helmet?

Mel Brooks has hit nearly every genre of spoof imaginable in his career. Spaceballs marks his foray into science fiction, with the chuckles being thrown at Star Trek, Alien, The Planet of the Apes, and most prominently Star Wars.

Lord Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) and his crew are after Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) and her planet's air supply. Her only hope is a loner (Bill Pullman) called Lonestar (get it?) and his sidekick Barf (John Candy). Lonestar and the Princess, along with their friends and a flying Winnebago, must evade the clutches of the evil Dark Helmet while trying their best not to fall in love.

With Brooks in space, his usual comedic routine is shaken up a bit. There is absolutely no semblance of seriousness at any point, as one look at the characters is enough to dispel that notion. This shouldn't really be a bad thing, but it is. It careens into whimsical territory and never takes a break. There is also no discernable point on any sort of higher plane. Brooks' other classics had at least one, and the absence here goes a long way towards trivializing everything.

But enough of the snobby talk, the real question is whether it's funny or not, right? It works in spurts, delivering where it needs to. Most of the gags are forgettable and some are pretty lame, but some rise above the rest, like the jump to ludicrous speed. They can't claim to match some of the ruses in early films, but they are funny. A couple of snickers is enough to sustain the movie, and it knows when to cut it off.

The cast does its best not to act, so what's there to comment on? It's Rick Moranis who steals the show as the diminutive Dark Helmet, though there isn't anyone to really stop him. Even the poochified John Candy doesn't make much of a splash.

Being an enjoyable distraction is all this movie can claim, as it doesn't pretend to aspire towards anything else.



-The Gnome