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Scott Ventura >> Movie Commentary >> December 2001 >> Spaceballs

Spaceballs

Movie Commentary by Scott Ventura

Details

Scott's Rating:
2 / 5
Times Seen:
3
Viewing Date:
December 2001
IMDB Name:
Spaceballs (1987)
Director:
Mel Brooks
Keywords:
comedy
Made:
1987
MPAA Rating:
PG

Struggling

Spaceballs is not one of the better efforts from legendary comedian Mel Brooks. As with so many comedies, the material is not enough to sustain the running length. As a result, the few really good jokes are overwhelmed by weak connecting material. I remember loving Ernie Fosselius's Hardware Wars, another jab at Star Wars, but one that wisely clocks in at a scant thirteen minutes. Curiously, Fosselius is also credited as a sound editor on Spaceballs! There are excellent moments in Spaceballs, but they are most often jokes about movie-making in general and not any movie in particular.

Spaceballs is also hurt by its lackluster cast. John Candy has occasional bursts of brilliance, as in Planes, Trains & Automobiles, released only five months later. Both movies supplied Candy with a grating personality, but in PT&A it was somehow charmingly so, especially by the end. His "mog" routine is totally uninspired, and there's no parody of Chewbacca after the costume. Bill Pullman looks a little like a young Mark Hamill, but he doesn't act like one. And now that I think about it, rolling Han and Luke into a single character was a big mistake. Rick Moranis is hampered mostly by bad writing. It would be much funnier to see someone of his size still managing to project a menacing aura, instead of always running around in a panic.

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Copyright 2001 by Scott Ventura. All rights reserved.