Spaceballs (1987)

 

Oh, Mel Brooks, you wonderful man you. It takes a real love for source material in order to parody the everliving heck out of it, and with this spoof on 'Star Wars' (well, predominantly 'Star Wars') he nailed it yet again. It's outrageously funny from start to finish, even after all this time. That's because most of the jokes don't have a limited reference, but work just as well as a jab at science fiction in general. 

The evil Spaceball Empire is running out of air. So they decide to kidnap princess Vespa in order to steal the air from her planet of Druidia. Distraught, the king requests the aide of space pirate Lone Starr and his buddy Barf to rescue his daughter. From then on, it's a race to stay out of the clutches of the Spaceballs, stop Druidia from becoming an airless husk and return the princess home. 

Oh, and Lone Starr learns how to wield the Schwartz along the way, a mystical force taught to him by the wise creature Yogurt. 

Yes, it is exactly the same outline as 'Star Wars', because if you're going to parody science fiction, why not the biggest franchise ever? 

Of course, the story is not as important as the jokes, and how they are plentiful here. Well, with a great cast filled with comedic talent, it's hard to do wrong. There's Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet and John Candy as Barf, to name but two of the heavy hitters here. 

Fun fact: Candy improvised a lot of his lines and yes, he was a master of comedy. Still sorely missed... 

It's tricky to fault the film, because it really is just gags and jokes one after the other. The story is merely the thinnest of threads to make everyone go from point A to point B, but in truth: it doesn't matter all that much. It's joke after joke after joke, almost non-stop. Are they all jujst as funny? Probably not. Hell, some are a bit far-fetched and some you can see coming a mile away. 

But then there are the subtle ones, like the joke about merchandising. On its own, it's okay, but then you start to notice a shitload of merchandising items in the rest of the film and it becomes hilarious. And yes, the Jewish schtick Brooks often inserts can feel a bit stale at times, but considering this came out in 1987, it wasn't as overdone yet. Besides, it is usually still funny, if at times maybe a bit too far removed for audiences not really acquainted with Jewish traditions and mannerisms. 

You know who also is a lot funnier than anyone would have given him credit for? George Wyner as Colonel Sandurz. No really. The more you watch this film, the better he becomes. It also took me about 20 years to finally get the KFC jokes directed at him. Like this one:

"What's the matter, Colonel Sandurz? Chicken?"

Now that is some funny shit right there. 

Does it work best if you are fond of science fiction? Absolutely. Double that if you get the references to 'Star Wars', 'Star Trek' and 'Planet of the Apes'. But even without those, it's still a very, very funny film. It might even be one of the most quotable Mel Brooks' productions, which is no easy feat considering most of them have very memorable lines. 

So yes, heartily recommended, even if it is not Brooks his absolute best.