Balle spaziali

There are some that say Mel Brooks's best satire is Spaceballs. Personally I like The Producers, but I'd never argue with anyone who holds out for this gut splitting comedy which uses both subtle satire and heavy bellylaughs drilled into the viewer with the skill and speed of one writing with light saber pen.

The main object of the satire is the original Star Wars movie, but during the course of the film Brooks took a shot at The Wizard Of Oz, The Bridge On The River Kwai, Lawrence Of Arabia, Planet Of The Apes and Alien and a few others I could name if I thought about it. The man does know his film history.

All is happy on the planet Druidia where King Dick Van Patten is eagerly awaiting the wedding of his daughter Princess Daphne Zuniga to her intended bridegroom, the eager Prince Valium played by Jim J. Bullock. But evil forces in the galaxy are afoot, the planet Spaceballs has a permanently polluted atmosphere and its President Skroob and his aides Colonel Sanders and Dark Helmet played respectively by Mel Brooks, George Wyner, and Rick Moranis have hatched a scheme to kidnap the princess and suck the atmosphere out of Druidia and take it back to Spaceballs.

They look like they just might succeed, but a Han Solo like character Lonestar (Bill Pullman)and his faithful half man, half dog companion John Candy pull off a rescue, but they are hunted people now throughout the galaxy. All seems lost, but fate has directed them to a desert like planet where they meet up with Yoda who acquaints them with the most potent force in the universe, the all powerful Schwartz.

The gags come so fast and furious that if you pop a kernel of popcorn in your mouth you could miss a gem. The performances are letter perfect and Brooks gives everyone in the cast his own bit or two. I forgot to mention Joan Rivers who is the voice of a C3PO character called Dot Matrix, companion to Zuniga the Druish princess complete with virgin alarm. And watch out if you mess with Zuniga's hair.

If I had to name a favorite it would be Rick Moranis playing Dark Helmet. When the helmet is down it's a James Earl Jones like voice that emerges, deep and sinister. When the helmet comes up all you see is Rick Moranis and it looks like it wasn't just the kids that got shrunk.

Spaceballs is a film that can be enjoyed by folks who love good comedy and for science fiction fans who don't take themselves too seriously. For someone like Mel Brooks to please both those crowds is really something.

Spaceballs strikes me as how a parody should be made. It's not overbearing, the jokes are spot on, the pastiche references are quite memorable, as most of the quotes from this film. With a seemingly ridiculous plot because of its burlesque nature, it doesn't interfere with the comedic purposes, so plot and humour go wonderfully hand in hand. Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet (sometimes the simplest humour is where it's at) is incredibly funny as well as John Candy as Barf (the names alone makes one giggle). The great Mel Brooks makes his grand appearance too and he acts accordingly as expected, the man is a comedy genious and proves it movie after movie and graces us with his hilarious participations.

Undoubtedly the laugh star in this is Rick Moranis, I mean the mightiest villain of all time is absolutely the opposite of what you would expect and that makes it an excellent situation for comedy which was perfectly executed. Every little detail counts for comedy, you'll notice many nuances and obscure references to other films once you have watched it a couple of times, and believe me it gets better after each viewing, Spaceballs absolutely deserves it.

The duel scene between Dark Helmet and Lone Starr and the spoof on the classic "I am your father!" moment is comedy gold. And of course one of the things I absolutely treasure about Mel Brooks' films is their exhilarating self-awareness, that always gets me; the more absurd they make it, the better! The example of this film is when Colonel Sandurz is browsing through some VHS tapes and puts the tape of Spaceballs, the very same film which they are making at the moment, and then they watch themselves on the screen, that is just ridiculously funny.

Spaceballs is a classic in my book, watch it and make it on your own.

"Spaceballs" is one of my favorite Mel Brooks comedies. Brooks has made some of the funniest movies of our time ("The Producers", "Brazing Saddles", "High Anxiety", etc.) and I think "Spaceballs" is up there in the same league. This film spoofs the "Star Wars" movies in general, but there's also references to "Star Trek", "Alien", and "Planet of the Apes" just to name a few. The actors are all very funny, with Brooks in two roles: President Skroob and Yogurt (his version of Yoda); the late John Candy as Barf the mawg (half man, half dog); Rick Moranis as the Darth Vader clone Dark Helmet; Bill Pullman as Lone Starr, the Luke Skywalker takeoff; Daphne Zuniga as Princess Vespa, similar to Princess Leia; and Dot Matrix, the robot with the voice of Joan Rivers who's obviously in the C-3P0 role. There's plenty of silly gags throughout "Spaceballs", and I laughed most of the time. Very funny, entertaining sci-fi comedy from one of the great comedic filmmakers of all time.

***1/2 (out of four)

Leave it to Mel Brooks; no one else could make a space movie with references to "The Wizard of Oz", "The Godfather", Mr. Coffee and flying Winnebagos.

"Spaceballs" is just about the best post-"History of the World Part I" film Mel has made and that's saying something, considering how many great jokes Mel and Company is able to pull off while within PG territory.

Easy enough to guess that this is Mel's take on "Star Wars", complete with his own versions of C-3P0 (Dot Matrix), Princess Leia (Princess Vespa), Chewbacca (Barf the Mawg) and a combination of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker (LoneStarr).

Oh, and let's not forget Dark Helmet! The very embodiment of evil (Mel Brooks-style) who not only wears a black cloak and headpiece but also a stylishly-wide black tie. And when he strikes...it's usually not above the belt.

The gags come fast and furious and, as is usually the case, all the regular faces show up (Graham, DeLuise, Van Patten) and Mel gives it all he's got. Lots of space sagas get equal ribbing (the "Star Wars" trilogy, "Alien", "Planet of the Apes") and there isn't a cliche that Mel fails to notice.

You can't blame Mel Brooks for thinking this genre needed a good skewering. He started it in "History of the World" with his "Jews in Space" coming attraction and continues it here. My only complaint: Mel, why did you have to wait so long??

Eight stars, plus a half star more for Pizza the Hutt; I loved it, especially when the pepperoni started running. Also for President Skroob's (Brooks') comment after being mis-transported ("Why didn't somebody tell me my a** was so big??").

Okay, nine stars. Mel Brooks strikes back!

SPACEBALLS was a childhood favourite of mine and I'm pleased to see that it still holds up today for audiences. It's a loving spoof of the whole STAR WARS franchise with Mel Brooks on top form as he mercilessly ribs George Lucas for his addition to merchandising, ridiculous costumes, plot elements, and the like. That SPACEBALLS also tells its own entertaining story that holds up as a stand-alone adventure is testament to its effectiveness. Strong production values and fun effects only add to the experience.

The cast is a superior one with the highlights including Joan Rivers as 'Dot Matrix' and the lovably goofy John Candy playing a half-man, half-dog. Rick Moranis really shines though in his best role as 'Dark Helmet' and many of his scenes are the funniest the film has to offer; also watch out for Mel Brooks's scene-stealing 'Yogurt'. The laughs come thick and fast and not all of them are funny, but when the film hits it really hits; the scenes involving instant video cassettes and breaking the fourth wall are the funniest. My overall highlight though has to be John Hurt's cameo, which is the icing on an already splendid cake.