Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie''s plot.
Space Balls is Mel Brooks’ take on the Star Wars phenomenon. Released in 1987, it features SFX by none other than George Lucas’ firm, Industrial Light & Magic – not to mention spaceships that look like Volkswagen people carriers…
The story follows thus:
A long, long time ago, Princess Vespa was about to be married to Prince Vallium, but escapes from her own wedding. In dire peril from the evil Dark Helmet, Vespa’s only hope is the roguish mercenary Lone Starr and his Mog (half man, half dog) companion, Barfolemew ‘Barf’, and their rather dodgy-looking spaceship. Along their journey they must learn to use the Schwartz from legendary warrior, Yogurt. Also, evil President Skroob is planning to steal Planet Druida’s oxygen supply. (Druida is Princess Vespa’s home planet.)
Evil Lord Helmet is a fearful foe.. all may be lost already.
May the Schwartz be with you.”
What we have here is a Mel Brooks spoof, but unfortunately not a classic Mel Brooks spoof, at least not to me – though from the majority of reviews I’ve seen, you’d think it was his finest hour! There are funny moments to be sure with plenty of spoofery and some good sight gags, but mostly the dialogue relies on sexual innuendo rather than being clever or original. Some good gags are made at the expense of various science fiction films, especially of course the Star Wars films, yet I felt that there was a lot more mileage in the idea than this film got out of it. There were a number of spoofs of the film-making industry as a whole, which I generally found to be much funnier than the Star Wars gags.
Having said that, Space Balls is still a film well worth watching and maybe I missed a few jokes due to the poor quality of the video I saw. The characters are quite funny and the performances by Pullman, Zuniga, and George Wyner are near-perfect. Brooks enjoys himself in the duel role of President Skroob and Yogurt, who has probably the funniest lines in the film. Michael Winslow makes radar noises and Rick Moranis goofs it up as Dark Helmet, while John Candy is quite funny but somewhat wasted as Barf. Of the other characters, Pizza the Hutt is pretty funny… and disgusting, too!
The SFX are pretty good, as you’d expect since they were done by IL&M, and the musical score works quite well. It’s really only the script that lets this one down. It’s very good in places but weak in others.
This is a film you’re going to enjoy more if you like sci-fi films, obviously, and if you find the innuendo funny rather than offensive or irritating. As far as Brooks films go, some will tell you that it’s the best, but to me it doesn’t come close to Blazing Saddles or High Anxiety, and isn’t really as good as The Producers, either. This one won’t make it into my Top Ten Spoof Movies but I’m quite happy to have seen it and would probably watch it again sometime. I just feel that it could have been so much more…
Other Information
Rating: PG (UK & USA) – UK uncut version re-rated to 12 in 2000
Length: 96 minutes
Cast & quotes:
Mel Brooks .... President Skroob/Yogurt - / ”Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made.”
Rick Moranis .... Dark Helmet - ”Before you die there is something you should know about us, Lone Star…. I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.”
Bill Pullman .... Lone Starr - ”So, Lord Helmet, at last we meet again for the first time for the last time.”
Daphne Zuniga .... Princess Vespa – (when trekking through the desert with Lone Starr and Barf gasping “water, water…” and Dot Matrix panting “oil, oil…” - ”room service, room service…”
John Candy .... Barfolemew 'Barf' - ”I'm a mog: half man, half dog. I'm my own best friend!”
George Wyner .... Colonel Sandurz - ”Why are you preparing? You're always preparing! Just go!”
Joan Rivers .... Dot Matrix (voice) - ”OK, we all know Prince Valium is a pill. But you could have married him for your father's sake and had a headache for the next 25 years.”
In this spoof of STAR WARS and a handful of other sci-fi flicks from the 1970s and '80s space-bum-for-hire Lone Starr Bill Pullman and his half-doghal...More at Family Video
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