Galaxy Quest

Galaxy Quest Stats: Internet Movie Database
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I've seen all the Star Trek movies, in fact, I own most of them. I can usually name a Next Generation episode before the end of the teaser. And I was in the audience at the one convention in which Bill Shatner and Leonard Nimoy appeared together outside of LA...

So how interested might I be in a satiric movie about the cast of a defunct TV sci-fi show who, after years of petty squabbles and convention appearances, are mistaken by clueless aliens for the heroes they portrayed and are lured into a real-life space adventure?

It's Three Amigos  in space.  (In my world, that's a Good Thing!)

There's always a risk that a parody will be too hard on its subject, but this script was gentle enough to have been written from an insider's perspective, perhaps by someone with his own memories of autograph lines and Vulcan mind-melds to call upon. In fact, it is the technical expertise of the devoted fans in this story that produces the misplaced actors' triumphant return to mother earth.

Galaxy Quest is a consistent ensemble effort. Tim Allen generates sympathetic laughs as Jason Nesmith, the overbearing actor living in the shadow of his own ego. Sigourney Weaver rises above her character's Barbie doll mannerisms to project the strength and sense of humor that have made her a household name. Alan Rickman is at his sardonic best as Alexander Dane, a British thesbian who hasn't come to terms with the mannerisms of his devoted fans or what's become of his once promising career.

Pleasant surprises?

Tony Shalhoub as the spaced-out Fred Kwan, whose cool acceptance of the outrageous somehow makes everyone else's panicked reactions all the more hilarious.

Sam Rockwell's portrayal of the ubiquitous extra-without-a-future, Guy Fleegman, sends up decades of TV cliches.

Enrico Colantoni, probably best known as the commitment-phobic photographer of TV's "Just Shoot Me," displays unexpected versatility as the childlike innocent, Mathesar.

And newcomer Missi Pyle is charmingly weird as Fred's Thermian love interest.

With the advent of DVDs, I've come to see that mostly, deleted scenes are deleted for a reason, but in the case of Galaxy Quest, I'd just as soon they'd have all been left in. In particular, "Tech Talk with Sergeant Chen" showcases the comic genius of Tony Shalhoub's pauses and half-smiles, and "Gwen Saves the Day" illustrates Sigourney Weavers' character's complaint that "no one takes her seriously" - not even the two horny aliens she executes while they are distracted by her cleavage.

The funny thing is, though, that this comedy isn't just funny. It shows some surprising depth and glimpses real emotion now and again. I'm thinking, especially, of the scenes in which Nesmith (Tim Allen) overhears some guys talking about what a laughingstock he's become and Mathesar's (Colantoni) disappointment that his heroic Commander Taggart has lied to him.

Most touching for me is when Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman) speaks his character's taglines which he's disdained for years to a dying Thermian, Quellek, who'd worshipped and emulated him from afar. Quellek is appealingly played by Patrick Breen, a relative unknown who I found to be a bright spot in Men in Black as well.

I saw Galaxy Quest for its parallels to Star Trek, but it's obvious that the filmmakers made every effort to tell an absorbing and amusing story that would work for more than just Trekkies. They succeeded.

Sounds from Galaxy Quest

"You've gotta admit..."	-	Gwen and Tommy ragging on Jason.
"There is no quantum flux..."	-	Jason's just had his nose rubbed in the state of his career and he lets Brandon have it.
"I hadn't even gotten to..."	-	Galaxy Quest fan Brandon is cut off by Jason before he can finish asking his technical question.
"That should take care of..."	-	Jason fires on Sarris, thinking he's acting.
"I gave 'im both barrels"	-	Mathesar is afraid Sarris might respond badly to having been fired upon.
"Where's my limo?"	-	And Jason thought being stuffed into the back of a Toyota was a crummy way to get home...
"... what a savings."	-	Alexander Dane at a computer store grand opening.
"Remember yesterday at the convention..."	-	Jason was pretty drunk; his memory is the one nobody can trust.
"I got to fight this guy named Sarris..."	-	Jason likes this space thing.
"That was a helluva thing."	-	Fred's first ride on the gelevator.
"Who wants the grand tour?"	-	Guy's response to his first Gelevator ride.
"Jason, we are actors..."	-	"I'm a doctor, not an escalator..."
"I'm not even supposed to be here..."	-	Guy has done the math and he doesn't like what he's getting...
"Perhaps I'm not as stupid as I am ugly..."	-	Sarris has overheard Jason's insult.
"I remember that sound..."	-	Gwen recalls the Red Alert warning.
"Could you possibly...?"	-	Having been pursued into a minefield by Sarris, Alexander doesn't care for Tommy's driving.
"Look, I have one job..."	-	Gwen demands to be taken seriously.
"Did you guys ever watch the show?"	-	And yet no one will listen to poor Guy.
"Never give up..."	-	Jason has repeated that tagline once too often.
"Sorry - that door was a little sticky..."	-	Fred's starting to like being the chief engineer.
"I'm not a complete brain case..."	-	Jason calls Brandon for a little help.
"Well screw that!!"	-	Gwen is unprepared for a trip through the Chompers.
"...this episode was badly written!"	-	The Chompers are here because they were in the TV show.
"Whoever wrote this..."	-	What she said...
"I'm a dead man anyway..."	-	Fred prevents Guy from taking on a suicide mission.
"Hey Fred..."	-	Guy tries to draw Fred's attention away from Laliari.
"By Grebthar's Hammer..."	-	Alexander's farewell to Quellek.
"...dinner's at seven"	-	Brandon and his nonplussed mother.