Did Mel Brooks make "Spaceballs" to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the "Star Wars" saga?

The Plaid In HD WILL BLOW YOU AWAY! | Spaceballs | Mel Brooks, John Candy

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	• Spaceballs Mel Brooks, John Candy MGM (Video & DVD), 2000 average customer review:based on 351 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

In space, no one can hear you scream... with laughter!

By the time of this film's release, Mel Brooks had already established himself as the master of the genre spoof film. But "Spaceballs" is, if not his finest hour, one of the top three efforts in his long list of satirizing comedies. And geek culture would never be the same.

Basically parodying the original Star Wars saga, but mixing in elements of other sci-fi mainstays, like "Star Trek," "Alien" and others, Brooks employs his twisted skills to skewer one of the most beloved and well-known franchises in movie history and does so masterfully. There are plenty of sight-gags and word play moments, as is expected in a Mel Brooks comedy. I especially liked all the "Spaceballs" merchandise that constantly shows up in the film. From bed sheets to toilet paper, it's one of several running gags that I never get tired of.

It features some early work by Bill Pullman and Daphne Zuniga, who would both move on to bigger things in the future. Here, they have a perfect chemistry, as the snobby-but-yielding Princess and the rugged-but-tender hero. I like that, even before they fall for each other, they already argue like an old married couple.

The main stars here, though, are (the late) John Candy and Rick Moranis, both of whom are staples in the world of the 80's comedy film. John Candy has some nice scenes and gets some yuks going, but it is Rick Moranis, as the evil-but-inept Lord Dark Helmet, who basically steals the show. Most of the funniest moment and lines belong to him. From playing with his "Spaceballs" dolls, to having his men (literally) combing the desert for our heroes, he proves that, even in a total farce, evil is always the more interesting and fun to watch.

Many others have tried to imitate Brooks style of comedic humor, most notably Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, but try as others might, they simply cannot compete with the master. Because the one thing that Mel Brooks comedy spoofs do, that others do not, is know when to "not go there." His humor is tactless, without ever being tasteless. "Spaceballs" remains one of Brooks best works and is certainly my personal favorite. If you love sci-fi, or if you hate it, you'll find plenty to enjoy in this film!

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Did Mel Brooks make "Spaceballs" to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the "Star Wars" saga?

Last month we celebrated the first decade of George Lucas's great entertainment, and now here is Brooks's satire, complete with Dark Helmet and Pizza the Hutt.

I enjoyed a lot of the movie, but I kept thinking I was at a revival. The strangest thing about "Spaceballs" is that it should have been made several years ago, before our appetite for "Star Wars" satires had been completely exhausted.

Brooks's first features, "The Producers" and "The Twelve Chairs," told original stories. Since then, he has specialized in movie satires; his targets include Frankenstein, Hitchcock, Westerns, silent movies and historical epics. I usually find a few very big laughs and a lot of smaller ones in his movies, but the earlier ones are stronger than the more recent films, and I keep wishing Brooks would satirize something current and tricky, like the John Hughes teenage films, instead of picking on old targets. With "Spaceballs," he has made the kind of movie that didn't really need a Mel Brooks. In bits and pieces, one way or another, this movie already has been made over the last 10 years by countless other satirists.

After a fabulous and increasingly funny opening shot of one of those massive George Lucas space cruisers, he launches into a cheerfully silly story about the planet Spaceball and its attempt to steal the atmosphere of its peaceful neighbor, Druidia.

The heroes and villains are all clones of "Star Wars" regulars. Bill Pullman is Lone Starr, free-lance space jockey. John Candy is Barf, a "mog" (half man, half dog). Rick Moranis is Dark Helmet, always complaining about something. Daphne Zuniga plays Princes Vespa, and so on. Brooks himself gives two of the movie's best performances: as Skroob, the president of Spaceball, and as Yogurt, the wise old man who keeps saying "May the Schwartz be with you" as if he's sure it will eventually get a laugh.

The movie's dialogue is constructed out of funny names, puns and old jokes. Sometimes it's painfully juvenile. But there are some great visual gags in the movie, and the best is Pizza the Hutt, a creature who roars and cajoles while cheese melts off its forehead and big hunks of pepperoni slide down its jowls.

I dunno. How do you review a movie like this, anyway? I guess by saying whether you laughed or not. I did laugh, but not enough to recommend the film. I keep waiting for Mel Brooks to do something really great, instead of these machine-made satires, where three-quarters of the invention goes into the special-effects technology.

As a producer of other people's movies, Brooks has an amazing track record; his company made "The Elephant Man," "My Favorite Year," "Frances" and "The Fly." But Brooks's intelligence and taste seem to switch off when he makes his own films, and he aims for broad, dumb comedy: Jokes about names with dirty double meanings are his big specialty. Maybe the reason "Spaceballs" isn't better is that he was deliberately aiming low, going for the no-brainer satire. What does he really think about "Star Wars," or anything else, for that matter?

Brooks got his start as a writer for Sid Caesar, and sometimes he still seems to be writing for early 1950s television. He is smarter than his films, and sometimes that translates into a feeling that he underestimates his audiences. He is potentially a great comedy director. In 1987, he shouldn't be making "Star Wars" satires. May the Schwartz help him to realize his potential, already.

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The Plaid In HD WILL BLOW YOU AWAY!

This movie looks great in HD. I know comedies don't need to be in HD because they aren't the epics that most people look for, but this movie looks great in HD.

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May The Schwartz Be With You

Seeing Spaceballs after the passing of some twenty years is a vastly different experience than seeing it in the theatre was all those years ago. After spoofing the western, the horror genre and silent film, Brooks set his sights on spoofing the big science fiction adventure with somewhat mixed results.

Spaceballs is essentially a space fairy tale and plays best when viewed as such. Brooks says in his commentary track that the film plays its best to a children's audience who have made it a cult favorite. The plot is simple enough. The citizen's of Planet Spaceball are running out of air. In order to remedy this problem they decide to kidnap the Druidish princess and hold her hostage in order to get the combination to her planet's airshield. What follows is a parody of Star Wars played against a movie marketing blitz. The results are mixed and a little dated but the humor works

The Collector's Edition features a commentary track, three featurettes including a memorial to John Candy, and an assortment of trailers, galleries, and small features that make this a fun watch. While not the greatest of Brooks'film this one is certainly worth watching.

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One movie I can say I've watched over and over again

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Please note that the rating above might not accurately reflect my thoughts, you will see a rating sentence at the end of the review.

AND MAY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER BE WITH YOU!!!!!!!!! Looking back to when I first saw this film, at first when he says "Spaceballs II, the search for more money," I thought he said "Spaceballs II, the search for Paul Bunyan." That...well, the original joke was funny enough, but if it was Paul Bunyan, oh the laughs of legend they could have pulled out of that. I do love this movie, it's total Mel Brooks. Not quite as good as Young Frankenstein, but definably one of my favorite Brooks films of all the times. Now, the only thing I got to say is, comedy does not get better with age (except for Paul Bunyan.) I'm not saying it's bad because it's a 1987 movie, I'm saying it's not as effective on me as it was the first time I saw it. Specially since I see the jokes coming, so you may get the sense of not the greatest review for this film.

What really startles me is the technical innovation (or some sort.) The scene where Dark Helmet and Kernal Sanders (you already get a sense of this movie from there names alone,) are watching Spaceballs on a TV screen, is magnificent. They were watching themselves as the action occurred. First off, that scene had to be incredibly hard to script. Secondly, that scene had to be impossible to produce. I could imagine maybe a hidden camera was linked to the TV screen, but it just seems BLOODY IMPOSSIBLE! The characters are awesome. But a character that really stands out too me only makes an appearance in one scene, and that is...THE ALIEN! XENOMORPH OR WHATEVER YOU CALL IT! A new born alien makes an appearance...and...SPOILER ALERT he sings showtoons. It's dead funny.

Continuing on with the characters, Princess Vespar plays great as an even more spoiled Princess Leia. I mean, she wasn't THAT spoiled in the Star Wars movies, so it's good to see Mel could exaggerate something too the point of no return. Lonestar, actually plays sort of a younger Han Solo. That's the only real difference. I guess you could say Lonestar is a mix between Luke and Han. Not resulting in the best of hero's, but funny moments indeed. Barf AKA Puke takes Chewbacca down to lows that we could never imagine. I can't even describe him, sometimes he's really embarrassing, and other times he's kinda funny. But I never thought of him as the main point of the movie. Mel Brooks plays the new Emperor, and he does fantastic at portraying a world leader. Somebody who scrams all the supplies he can for himself and doesn't understand how to make decisions...yep.

Kernal Sanders...well...he's not exactly the Kernal Sanders of legend. He is just Dark Helmet's lackey, but he pulls off some pretty awesome jokes. (DO SOMETHING!) Dark Helmet, again I felt wasn't exactly the strong point of the film, but he does play a lot better than Sanders or Barf. He plays the ridiculous Darth Vader...enough said. That scene with Ludicrous speed was absolute genius, but extremely un-realistic. The female C-3P0 (what was her name?) She plays...ugh... a female C-3P0! What can I say? And she does a good job at it. Of course, your wondering who my favorite character is, and, I'd haft to say either Mel Brooks' character or Yogurt. Yes, a golden Yoda who calls the Force the Schwarz(enegger). And a very Jewish one none the less. And believe me I know, I'm Jewish.

So is Mel Brooks the last time I checked. Anyways, the jokes, I'd love to talk about but I'm afraid I'd spoil the movie to no return. So, I'll give it a rating right here and right now.

The Rating? Hmm...4.4/5

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The farce is with you in this "uproarious salute to science fiction" (The Hollywood Reporter) that teams comedy legend Mel Brooks with an all-star cast of cutups including John Candy (Splash), Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters) and Bill Pullman (Ruthless People)! When the evil Dark Helmet (Moranis) attempts to steal all the air from planet Druidia, a determined Druish Princess (Daphne Zuniga), a clueless rogue (Pullman) and a half-man/half-dog creature who's his own best friend (Candy) set out to stop him! But with the forces of darkness closing in on them at ludicrous speed, they'll need the help of a wise imp named Yogurt (Brooks) and the mystical power of "The Schwartz" to bring peaceand merchandising rightsto the entire galaxy!

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