Starring: Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, George Wyner, Joan Rivers
Studio: MGM
Video: 1.85:1 Widescreen Enhanced
Audio: DTS 5.1, DD 5.1, French 2.0, Spanish Mono
Extras: Theatrical Trailer, Exhibitor Trailer, Pink Panther
Trailer, Storyboard to Film Comparisons (6 min), Film Flubs (6),
Spacequotes (20), Trivia Game (25 questions), Galleries (3),
Spaceballs: The Documentary (29 min), In Conversation: Mel Brooks and
Thomas Meehan (20 min), John Candy: Comic Spirit (9 min), Audio
Commentary, Watch The Movie At Ludicrous Speed (Entire film in 20
seconds!)
Length: 96 minutes
Rating: ***1/2
Evil Spaceballs have squandered the most important resource on their
planet—air! They’ve hatched a plan to steal the air of their
neighboring planet of Druidia, but they need to get through the outer
planetary shield. King Rowland’s daughter, Vespa, is about to be
wed and go off-planet on her honeymoon. Thus now is a perfect
time to kidnap her and hold her for ransom. Without any other
options, the king hires a pair of mercenaries that includes a
half-man/half-dog creature to get her back. Meanwhile, Pizza the
Hut is after them for a large debt. The captain, Lonestar,
decides to take the offer in order to pay off the money he owes, but it
won’t be easy. He has to contend with all sorts of characters
including Dark Helmet, the evil Spaceball leader, Dot Matrix, Princess
Vespa’s nursemaid, Yogurt, the wise man, and the difficult-to-handle
Druish princess herself, Princess Vespa. Only with teamwork and
an overdose of courage can our heroes defeat the enemy and save planet
Druidia.
Mel Brooks is known to have spoofed different genres of film and now
sci-fi and space is not safe! From the opening shot of the
spaceship that never ends, to the silly quotes that are as quotable as
any classic film, Mel Brooks has made a successful parody that is full
of laughs. Star Wars, Alien, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, and
films like The Wizard of Oz all show up in parts of the film.
Scene after scene Brooks takes the comedy to new heights. Just
when you thought he can’t top himself, he comes up with something even
more gut- busting. Most of the characters have a counterpart from
Star Wars and knowledge of that film is important to get the full
impact of some of the jokes. The documentary on the film has
interviews with all the characters to lend their stories about how they
ended up in the film and elaborate on some of the things that helped
make the film a success. The other extras on the disc will be
enjoyed by those who are already familiar with the film. I
especially enjoyed the Spacequotes section which should have many of
the fans’ favorites quotes and scenes. A lot of parody and
slapstick mated with Brooks’ typical Jewish humor makes Spaceballs a
comedy classic.
-Brian Bloom
