Hitting the big screen in 1999, the clever satire GALAXY QUEST is one of those films I can watch every couple of years and still enjoy.
In the 1980s, the show GALAXY QUEST, which chronicled the adventures of the intrepid crew of the spaceship Protector, developed such a cult following that twenty years later, the actors are still getting into costume to earn a living working conventions and other small sponsorship events. When a group of aliens show up to hire “Commander Peter Quincy Taggart” for a role-playing gig, he and his crew find himself on a very real Protector. To survive and save the aliens, they will have to become the team they once played on TV.
For me, this is an almost perfect comedy, satirizing the original STAR TREK series and Trekkies while also paying a loving homage. The show doesn’t simply trade on satire for laughs, though these gags are clever and hilarious, it’s also a great story on its own with people you root for and a satisfying finale. It’s great seeing the actors having to play a real-life version of the show, deal with the strange oddities built into the ship because they were on the show, and otherwise rise above their failings to be a very real, capable crew.
In short, this is a lot of fun, a hilarious satire that has its own integrity and a very strong story, backed by clever writing and a terrific cast including Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Sam Rockwell, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, and others. If you haven’t seen it yet, I think you’re in for a treat.
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