[as Jason is mooning them, looking for his shoes]
Mathesar: Commander, standing here in your presence is the greatest honor we could ever have hoped to achieve in our lifetimes.
Jason Nesmith: Thanks, appreciate it... Anybody seen my other shoe?
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Earth's TV transmissions and, having no knowledge of fiction or drama, they have mistaken the sci-fi shows for valid historical documents.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.
By : Susan Granger
Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup
Rating: 1
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.
