Spaceballs (1987)

The Worst Film Ever

Strong and Moving!

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I had always been curious to see this spoof movie, having seen many images from it, I wanted to see what other movies it takes the mick of, besides Star Wars, and it made sense to watch it on its 30th anniversary, directed by Mel Brooks (The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein). Basically planet Spaceball has squandered all of its fresh air, leader President Skroob (Mel Brooks) schemes to kidnap Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga), daughter of King Roland (Dick Van Patten) of the neighbouring planet Druidia, to force him to give him the code to allow them to steal all their air. Vespa meanwhile is abandoning her pre-arranged wedding to the narcoleptic Prince Valium (Jim J. Bullock), fleeing the planet in her Mercedes spaceship with her droid of honour, Dot Matrix (Lorene Yarnell Jansson, voiced by Joan Rivers). The villainous Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) was sent by Skroob to kidnap her, he travels in the impossibly huge ship Spaceball One, helmed by Colonel Sandurz (George Wyner). Mercenary Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his mog (half-human, half-dog) Barf (John Candy) are contracted by Roland, with the offer of a lucrative reward, to retrieve Vespa before she is captured, Lone Starr has a major debt with the gangster Pizza the Hutt (Dom DeLuise) and readily accepts. Travelling in their Winnebago space ship the Eagle 5, Lone Starr and Barf are able to reach Vespa before Spaceball One, they rescue both her and Dot, and escape, Spaceball One tries to follow, but Dark Helmet's foolish order to go to "ludicrous speed" causes them to overshoot to a large distance. Lone Starr is forced to crash-land the ship when it runs out of fuel, the escapees land on the nearby "desert moon of Vega", they pass out walking in the blazing sun, they are found by a group of diminutive red-clad aliens called the Dinks, and are taken to a cave occupied by the old and wise Yogurt (Mel Brooks). Lone Star is introduced by Yogurt to the "The Schwartz", a metaphysical power similar to the Force, Yogurt also introduces the audience to the film's merchandising campaign, Starr and Vespa begin flirting, but she insists she can only marry a prince. Helmet and Sandurz break the fourth wall and use a VHS of the movie Spaceballs to locate Princess Vespa, they then travel to the moon, capture Vespa and Dot, and return with them to the planet Spaceball. The captors threaten to reverse Vespa's nose job, forcing Roland to give over the code to the shield protecting Druidia, Helmet and Sandurz take Spaceball One to Druidia, while Lone Starr and Barf rescue Vespa and Dot from the prison complex on Spaceball. On Druida, the ship Spaceball One transforms into Mega Maid, a giant robotic maid with a vacuum cleaner, the vacuum is switched on and sucks the air out of the planet, but Starr uses the Schwartz to reverse the vacuum, blowing the air back. The air is successfully returned to Druida, Lone Starr and the allies enter Mega Maid in an attempt to destroy it, Starr and Helmet fight with lightsaber-like "Schwartz rings", Starr manages to defeat Helmet, and cause him to unintentionally the ship's self-destruct button. Lone Starr and his friends manage to escape, while Skroob, Helmet, and Sandurz cannot reverse the self-destruct, and do not reach any escape pods in time, they are trapped as the ship explodes, the head and arm of the Mega Maid subsequently lands on the nearby planet, much to the concern of the Ape-like population. The debt to Pizza the Hutt is nullified when it is reported that the gangster has died, Vespa and Roland are returned home, Starr only takes enough money to cover expenses. After lunch in a diner, where John Hurt has an Alien burst out of his chest, Starr discovers from Yogurt that he is in fact a prince, thus eligible to marry Vespa, he reaches Druida in time to halt her wedding to Prince Valium, he announces his lineage, he and Vespa are married. Also starring Michael Winslow as Radar Technician, Ronny Graham as Minister, Jim Jackman as Major Asshole, Sandy Helberg as Dr. Schlotkin, Stephen Tobolowsky as Captain of the Guard, Jack Riley as TV Newsman, Tony Cox as Dink, Phil Hartman as a Dink voice, Tress MacNeille as a Dink voice and Michael York as an Ape. Moranis, Candy and Winslow just about do what they do best, but the scripting of this is rather lazy, it may have the right amount of recognisable mocks of Star Wars, as well as Alien, Flash Gordon, Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, and Jaws, but they are limp visuals and verbal jokes, there is no wit, I only tittered in moments, a disappointing science-fiction spoof comedy. Adequate!

I remember going to see 'Spaceballs' when it came out in the cinema (a building with a massive TWO screens and is no longer there any more). I think I was about 11 at the time. Back then I didn't really know who Mel Brookes was, or anything about his other films. I just liked 'Star Wars' and that was all I needed to know. And, based on that most flimsy of reasons to see a film - I loved it! It's a parody of 'Star Wars' (and the occasional other sci-fi gag) which follows the original's plot reasonably accurately, i.e. rougish smuggler must rescue a princess from a black-helmetted space dictator. Now, nearly three decades later I thought I would watch it again and, I didn't love it… so much.I guess it's one of those films where you have to be young to really laugh at every single joke. I now feel that, although much of the time I was at least smiling a bit, it's not quite as funny as when I used to laugh at simpler things. It's a decent enough watch and it's nice seeing John Candy clearly enjoying himself as the 'Chewbacca-type' creature (unsubtly named) 'Barf.' Now I look at it again I can't help thinking that Mel Brooks is trying a little too hard to be everywhere, as he casts himself as basically the lead (and a couple other roles) and now I see it through adult eyes, he seems a little too full of himself, even if he does play a complete idiot.I mentioned John Candy as the stand-out role, but the others are good, too. Bill Pullman is functional as the 'hero,' but it's Rick Moranis who steals every scene as the completely incompetent 'Darth Vader' rip-off, now known as 'Dark Helmet.' There's a great 'Alien' cameo too by John Hurt and some other nods to a few famous franchises, so you'll probably need to know all movies in the genre to appreciate everything.I may be sounding a little harsh overall, but I did enjoy it again, even after all this time. I'll probably watch it again in another ten years, but next time I'll know not to expect it to be the same as when I was a kid.

Probably the worst movie I've ever seen. It's an hour and a half of terrible puns. Barf? Yogurt? Pizza the hut? comb the desert? Jam the radar? awful. I love Mel Brooks, but if this was his first movie, he would have never worked again. Sorry, but this film is Un-watchable. Even the great John Candy could not redeem this atrocity.

This is an example of the few satires in our film industry that manage to be so awful and terrible that they become truly classic. "Spaceballs" mocks the greatest of the science-fiction blockbuster film genre, particularly focusing on the original "Star Wars" trilogy, but extending to mock "Star Trek", "Alien" and "Planet of the Apes", as well as the genre as a whole. While cringe-worthy at times, the humour is family-friendly and laughable, and the awful special effects, terrible puns and ridiculous moments can be excused due to the film's nature as a hilarious genre-based satire. The film's uncanny ability to break the fourth wall, acknowledge the flaws of the film industry and criticise the blockbuster film's habit of being based entirely on profit makes for fantastic viewing, and Mel Brooks' ridiculous sense of humour appeals directly to this. While being utterly ridiculous and leaving me cringing at times, the film really tickled my funny bone as a science fiction and "Star Wars" fan, and it goes in my good books as one of the better comedies to view on a cold, rainy day.