Galaxy Quest

Rating: 5/5

With an ingenious concept of merging a cheesy sci-fi show into a reality, Galaxy Quest is a creative and wonderfully comical movie.

At a fan expo for an old show called Galaxy Quest, the original cast members are reluctant to go on stage and relive the roles they can never seem to shake. To add to their disdain of the expo, they are sick of playing second fiddle to Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen) who played the Commander on the show.

After the convention, Jason is approached by a group of people who are asking for his help to save their ship and species. Thinking this is just another job, Jason gladly goes along, but is shocked to discover that the group of people are actually aliens who think that the show Galaxy Quest was a documentation of a real life space crew. Jason returns to Earth and rounds up his fellow cast mates and together they begin a true outer-space adventure.

Admittedly I have never been to a sci-fi convention, but I have been to fan expos before, so I have a fairly good understanding of what the environment and type of people who attend the conventions are like. With that being said, Galaxy Quest seems to paint a pretty accurate portrayal of life at a science fiction expo. The idea of taking a cast of washed up actors and putting them inside the real world of their old fame is truly brilliant.

It is the concept of the movie, and the acting that goes along with it, that makes Galaxy Quest one of the better comedies out there. Each of the main actors have the challenge of playing a role that has two different sides to it. There is their character's real life persona and then the role that they played on tv. With such a talented cast, the actors are able to find a perfect balance between the two.

Being that he is the commander of the ship, Tim Allen is the lead of the film. However, in my eyes it was Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, and Sam Rockwell that created the most impressionable characters. Rickman's deadpan portrayal as a once distinguished English actor who has succumbed to a life of playing an alien, is comical in a way that doesn't need any slapstick humor to make it work. Rockwell's character was only on one episode of Galaxy Quest, yet he desperately clings to his minute fame, and it is his over the top emotions that make for some of the best physical humor in the film. Finally, Weaver is the moral backbone of the crew, and is able to bring stability and sense to those around her in a humorous way.

Galaxy Quest was shown to me many, many years ago, and it is one of the first movies I remember watching and finding myself laughing out loud. When it comes to comedies, I can be very picky. I appreciate originality and intelligent humor, and that is why Galaxy Quest continues to make me laugh no matter how many times I watch it.