Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday!

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Movie Information:

Warning: This may contain spoilers.

Parents' Guide: Generally rated PG for some action violence, mild language, and sensuality.

For four years, the sci-fi adventure series known as "Galaxy Quest" took place aboard the spaceship the NSEA Protector, with a courageous crew who set out on dangerous missions in space. The series starred Jason Nesmith as suave Commander Peter Quincy Taggert, Gwen DeMarco as sexy communications person Lt. Tawny Madison (a role which consisted solely of repeating what the computer stated, much to Gwen's annoyance), Shakespearean trained Sir Alexander Dane as alien Dr. Lazarus, Fred Kwan as engineer Tech Sgt. Chen, and Tommy Webber as child gunner Laredo.

But then the series was cancelled.

Eighteen years pass, and the cast is still donning their costumes and signing autographs at sci-fi conventions for all their many dedicated fans. Unfortunately for the cast, the series is a bittersweet memory, since they have been unable to find any significant acting work since. Only Jason seems to enjoy how things turned out for them all - until he finds out that his co-stars detest him for his superior attitude, and much of the public considers him a laughing-stock.

Disheartened and upset, Jason is approached by a group of what he believes to be convention attendees who want his help, but he does not take them very seriously or even really listen to what they have to say. He believes that they want him to reprise his role for a brief gig, a job which he does not take very seriously, but he quickly discovers that things aren't quite what they seem.

In reality, the group who approached him were a real-life alien species, known as the Thermians. These aliens intercepted the television broadcast of Galaxy Quest, which they mistook as historical documents. This leads them to believe that the series was real, with the cast truly being the brave crew they portrayed in the series. 

Excited by the prospect of working on a real alien spaceship, Jason finds his co-stars (accompanied by Guy Fleegman, who was killed off before the opening credits of a single episode) and convinces them to join him for what they believe to be a paying gig. Things quickly begin to get out of hand, as the cast discover that it is all set in reality, and they are tasked to help the Thermians in their war against their nemesis, General Sarris. Without a script or director to tell them what to do, the cast is thrown into chaos as they try to pull off the performances of their lives, while they attempt to win the war.

My Review:

A science fiction comedy poking a little fun at Star Trek (and sci-fi shows in general) is always appreciated, though I do not usually go for comedies all that much myself. I almost always find comedies hard to watch a second time around, since the jokes rarely have the same impact twice, but I genuinely think that Galaxy Quest managed to nail all the elements that make up a winning comedy.

The cast was amazing throughout the movie, whether they were playing cynical former sci-fi stars, or wide-eyed and naive aliens. The whole cast gave solid performances, which makes me wonder why more people do not know about this movie. I am not even sure where I heard of the movie, but I can tell you it probably from somewhere obscure.

Tim Allen, who plays Jason, is put in a role that I do not think I have ever seen him portray before, but he pulls it off well in his own version of a William Shatner-like captain. Sigourney Weaver, who plays Gwen, is an absolute delight, as she pokes fun at her role as Ripley in the Alien movies and brings in a level of exasperation I can appreciate. Alan Rickman, who plays Alex, brilliantly portrays an actor stuck in a never-ending Spock-like role, all because he played it too well. His facial expressions alone make it worth it. Darryl Mitchell, who plays Laredo, is a great portrayal of an out-of-his-depth pilot. Enrico Colantoni, who plays Commander Mathesar, plays his character with such earnestness that you want to believe everything he is saying.

There is, of course, dozens of other brilliant actors and actresses in this cast, but I would like to talk about two that stood out to me; Tony Shalhoub, who plays Fred, and Sam Rockwell, who plays Guy.

From the first moment, these two characters were on screen, I was amused. 

Shalhoub portrays the lackadaisical technician, whose only reaction to the terrifying process that was being covered in goo and transported at impossible speeds through space, was; "Hmm. That was a hell of a thing." With that sort of understated humour, mixed in with a laid-back approach to suddenly being faced with an alien war, I absolutely loved this character.

Rockwell, on the other hand, plays as the terrified hack actor who pretty much only gets dragged along because he has nothing better to do. While everyone else goes about things (for the most part) as if it's just another gig, Rockwell is the one that continually shows the panic that most people would feel if they were ever thrust into this situation. He even has a bit of an existential crisis when the rest of the crew do not know his last name, stating; "Nobody knows. Do you know why? Because my character isn't important enough for a last name, because I'm gonna die five minutes in!"

All in all, this movie was very entertaining and I would recommend it to anyone who has the chance to check it out. The humour never turns cruel or even crude, but rather stays in the genuinely amusing territory of commenting on nonsensical equipment or making references to other cult series or movies.

~The Elf