Galaxy Quest (Deluxe Edition) DVD Review
Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 05.23.2009
Does the Star Trek parody still generate the laughs ten years later?
Directed by: Dean Parisot Written by: David Howard & Robert Gordon
Starring: Tim Allen - Jason Nesmith / Commander/Captain Peter Quincy Taggart Alan Rickman - Sir Alexander Dane / Dr. Lazarus of Tev'Meck Sigourney Weaver - Gwen DeMarco / Lieutenant Tawny Madison Tony Shalhoub - Fred Kwan / Tech Sergeant Chen Daryl Mitchell - Tommy Webber / Lieutenant Laredo Sam Rockwell - Guy Fleegman / Crewman Number 6 Enrico Colantoni - Mathesar Robin Sachs - General Roth'h'ar Sarris Justin Long - Brandon Missi Pyle - Laliari Patrick Breen - Quellek Rainn Wilson - Lahnk Corbin Bleu - Tommy Webber (age 9)
DVD Release Date: 5/12/2009 Running Time: 102 minutes
Rated PG for some action violence, mild language and sensuality
Despite all appearances, parody and spoof films are tricky movies to make. It is not enough to have a good subject to skewer; in order to make such a movie succeed, a prospective group of movie-makers must be able to strike a balance between attracting fans and non-fans of the subject matter without offending the fans or driving the non-fans away. Many have tried to make such movies and failed; the failure of people such as Adam Seltzer & Jason Friedberg is legendary, the Wayans have been dropping off in quality ever since the third Scary Movie film, and even the legendary Zucker brothers--the team behind The Naked Gun and Airplane--struck out a time or two. This, it is perhaps no mystery why the genre is generally avoided even when there is a host of good subject matter to skewer. Still, occasionally a script comes along that a movie studio is willing to take a chance on; such was the case with Galaxy Quest. The Star Trek parody, picked up by DreamWorks, was released on Christmas Day of 1999 and managed to draw critical and commercial success. A DVD release the year after was moderately successful; thus, it's no surprise that DreamWorks has released it on its 10th Anniversary in a Deluxe Edition DVD, timed just perfectly to coincide with the new Star Trek film and hopefully bring in a host of new Trek fans to laugh along with it.
The Movie
The movie stars Allen as Jason Nesmith, an actor who had his nadir seventeen years ago as Captain Peter Taggart on the four season-long show "Galaxy Quest." He was at the height of his popularity then and has never recovered, though he maintains a massive ego from his glory days. His former castmates all loathe him and are in similar straits. There's Alexander Dane (Rickman), a Shakespearean-trained British actor who's never gotten past his role as the alien Dr. Lazarus; Gwen DeMarco (Weaver) who played computer officer Tawny Madison, the sex appeal on the show who had little else do to; Fred Kwan (Shalhoub) who played the Asian engineer Tech Sergeant Chen; and former child actor Tommy Webber (Mitchell) who played the Wesley Crusher-like pilot Lieutenant Laredo. All five of the actors are inextricably bound to each other by the show, having never progressed past it, and they show up at fan convention after fan convention where they've grown increasingly irritated at Jason for his grandstanding and attitude. At one convention in particular that doesn't go well for Jason, he finds himself approached by a group of people claiming to be an alien race known as Thermians, led by Mathesar (Colantoni). Mathesar says that the Thermians need his help, and Jason assumes this to be a request to appear in a fan-made episode. What he doesn't realize is that the Thermians are an actual race of aliens who have seen "Galaxy Quest" and assume them to be historical documents. Jason's castmates soon join him and they find themselves locked in a conflict with the Thermian's enemy, the alien Sarris...a conflict that will force them to come to terms with who they are if they're going to get out of this alive.
Galaxy Quest was based on a spec script called Captain Starshine by then-Hollywood newcomer David Howard. It was then reworked by Robert Gordon, a screenwriter who would go on to write Men In Black II and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, but at the time was a largely unknown writer in the industry. Gordon's script is, perhaps, a spoof film at it's greatest in that it both pokes fun at its subject matter and honors it. Gordon takes all the best-known conventions of the Star Trek phenomenon and holds it to a fairly gentle flame, mocking it in a purely nostalgic way that's legitimately funny. Long-time Trekkers and Trek-haters alike will enjoy the way the script mocks some of the cheesier moments in the franchise such as the relative uselessness of the female crew member (a la Deanna Troi, even if she is clearly supposed to be a riff on Uhuru), the sets that are cheesy by today's standards as seen during the moments where the old episodes are shown, nonsensical plot elements such as the chomper in the bowels of the ship and so on. At the same time, the movie is as much of a sci-fi adventure in its own right. Howard and Gordon create a great little space action story in addition to the comedic elements, investing enough time into the characters to fully develop them and letting the transition from comedy to action-adventure develop very smoothly. Howard does not appear to have done anything in Hollywood since Galaxy Quest and that's a shame, as if he was responsible for the pace and thematic elements of the film then he appears to have a good grasp on something many screenwriters fail to get the hang of.
Of course, as much credit for the success of the film and the likability of the characters falls on the cast as it does the writers. Director Dean Parisot assembled a top-notch cast for this, putting in many actors who could very much relate to the characters they were portraying. Tim Allen was inspired casting as Jason Nesmith. Having literally just come off the success of Home Improvement, Allen was very much in a position where he could relate to Nesmith in terms of being identified entirely with one show. He plays Jason as an unabashed jerk, but one who truly loves his fan base and is completely thrilled when he has the opportunity to live his character. Allen's movie career has been spotty at times, but his role as Jason stands out among his best performances. Alan Rickman has had a much more distinguished career and one might accuse him of slumming it here, but he seems perfectly cast and very comfortable, having a blast with his role as Alexander. One can feel the discomfort he feels and the pained irritation with which he has to spout of the catch phrase his character loathes, "By Grabthar's Hammer, I shall avenge thee!" Rickman has spoken about his performance in this film with genuine fondness and it comes through strongly in his performance. Likewise, Sigourney Weaver has a chance to skewer the genre which made her famous via the Alien films, and she plays the aging sexpot very well. The chemistry between her and Allen is remarkably strong and they play off each other very well.
Outside of the three principles, the rest of the cast is just as solid. Sam Rockwell has one of the meatiest roles, playing that character that has become a common joke among Trekkers--the security guy who dies on the Away missions. Rockwell makes Guy the smartest of the actors ported into space because he's created his entire world around the show, and his frenetic, nervous energy makes for a lot of laughs. Tony Shalhoub, best known these days as Adrian Monk from the USA Network show, is also good as Fred, the guy who's taking everything way too casually because he really has no idea what he's doing. It's rather amazing how many little-known actors appeared here and since became famous; Enrico Colantoni later found fame on the NBC show Just Shoot Me, though he was never as funny and quirky there as he is playing Mathesar. Justin Long of Live Free or Die Hard, Zack & Miri Make a Porno and the Mac guy commercials is great in a role as one of the Galaxy Quest fanatics who ends up helping the crew at a crucial point, and if you don't blink you'll catch The Office's Rainn Wilson as one of the Thermians. Derek Mitchell has a lot of fun playing the grown-up child actor, though he could have perhaps played it up a bit more; he is hardly bad, he simply doesn't shine quite like the other actors.
As director, Parisot does much more for this film then assemble an excellent cast. He guides the movie along with a very stable hand, making sure the tone of the film navigates between spoof comedy and action-adventure without ever venturing overboard in either direction. Parisot and production designer Linda DeScenna establish set pieces that capture the Trek feel in a parody setting rather than a simple rip-off setting. It is that sort of tone that Parisot sets for the entirety of the film, and one which shows why he is a far more effective filmmaker then contemporaries who have made spoofs and parodies. The key to making a good film in that genre is that you both celebrate and make fun of the topic you're tackling, and Parisot is able to do so very effectively. It doesn't hurt that he had the best in special effects crews in Industrial Light and Magic and the best in creature design in Stan Winston to make the film look like a big-budget sci-fi film, miles above what a less serious endeavor might go for. Ultimately that is what pushes it over the edge from good to great; this is a film that can satisfy sci-fi fans and those looking for a good comedy alike, allowing Galaxy Quest to transcend boundaries into an excellent cross-genre film.
Film Rating: 8.0
The Video
The 2.35:1 Widescreen presentation of Galaxy Quest looks very good, better than many films look ten years after the fact. The video transfer has been remastered from the 2000 edition of the DVD, and it shows with a cleaner image that has had some of the screen restored from the original, slightly cropped DVD. The special effects look very nice on this new transfer and colors, delineation and the like all look very good and clear. In fact, the colors look better on this set then the original DVD, where things occasionally seemed too over-saturated. It's nice to see that DreamWorks has shelled out the extra money to take these steps, as it makes the movie look absolutely as good as it can considering the age.
Video Rating: 8.5
The Audio
DreamWorks has given Galaxy Quest the standard 5.1 Dolby Digital English audio mix, and it sounds very nice. David Newman's score comes across quite nicely, and while the early portion of the movie that is located in a more mundane setting focuses mostly on the center channels things pick up across the spectrum once the actors are transported into space to deliver a nice little surround experience. The sound isn't so dynamic as to blow viewers away, but it really doesn't need to and to do so would probably distract from the film as a whole. Overall it's a technically sound experience that adds to the film rather than detracting, which is exactly what one should look for.
Audio Rating: 8.5
The Packaging
DreamWorks has presented the Galaxy Quest Deluxe Edition in a single-disc set contained within a standard snap case. The cover art shows Rickman, Allen and Weaver at the top in "action mode" with the blue baby aliens at the bottom; this image is replicated on the cover of the slip case in a holographic mode that changes to make the aliens in their vicious mode. The disc itself has a generic label which is vaguely disappointing, considering it's the same sort of treatment that B-level DVD's usually get. The menus are still images set against a stylized design motif with the theme music playing, and are exceptionally easy to navigate through.
Packaging Rating: 6.5
Special Features
Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest: (18:14) This making-of retrospective features most of the cast and crew talking about the making of the film and what it was like doing so, and it might seem a little too fluffy and praising, like your standard EPK works, if one didn’t consider how much the cast as grown to become famous since then, and yet they still got each of them back, including Rickman, Allen, Weaver, Rockwell, Shalhoub, Long and more. David Howard talks about how he came up with the original script after hearing a documentary voiced by Leonard Nimoy, and Robert Gordon and director Dean Parisot talk as a duo about how Gordon was given the concept and told to write a new script, the first draft of which had very few changes made to become the final shooting script. The cast talks about their experiences, and they even have Nicholas Meyer, who directed Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home, talking about the film and saying he thought “They made a movie just for me” when he saw it. There is discussion of how much of it is a parody and how much of it is a homage. Weaver talks about how much she enjoyed the convention part and Gordon and Perisot mention how they took the bathroom scene in the convention directly from an experience they’d had. This is just one of those great making-of pieces that talk about the film from people who truly seem to have enjoyed making it and aren’t just going through the interview motions; one of the best parts is when they discuss the chomper sequence, and how a bit of profanity was removed and how much the makers enjoyed that whole scene.
Never Give Up, Never Surrender: The Intrepid Crew of the NSEA Protector: (23:25) This featurette focuses on Allen, Weaver, Rickman, Mitchell, Rockwell and Shalhoub, the actors playing the actors, and combines original interviews with retrospective ones to give a great piece on what each of them brought to the table. Allen’s section talks about how he was sort of playing a version of himself, having just finished Home Improvement, and how he tried to play it as real as he could instead of going full-on joking for the laughs. Rickman likewise talks about how much he could relate to his role, having Shakespearean experience and being able to draw upon those things to create Dane. The on-screen tension between Alexander and Jason is discussed and how it related in some way to how Allen and Rickman interacted on-set, though it appears they became friends by the end. Weaver talks about how it was originally difficult for her to get her part because the directors didn’t want anyone with sci-fi experience, while Gordon and Perisot note the irony of the woman who created one of the ground-breaking roles of strong women in sci-fi playing someone who represented the original females in the genre who were essentially without anything to do. Weaver notes that she felt like she was playing her secret self in a role much more “her” then Ripley in Aliens. Shalhoub’s character was apparently inspired by David Carradine from Kung Fu and Shalhoub even mentions he thought it was for an Asian character upon reading the script. They talk about how that role was the least fleshed out and that it fell upon the actor to really create the role, which of course turned out very well. Mitchell’s role focuses a lot on his scene when he first takes the ship out and scrapes the edge on the space station, and his character is the least discussed; it would have been nice to see some talk about the comparisons to Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher and such. Sam Rockwell on the other hand gets a decent amount of time where they talk about his representation of the stock characters who appear on one episode and die, but also know so much because they understood the show so well. Rockwell talks about how his character was heavily influenced by Bill Paxton’s work in Aliens, which in retrospect makes a lot of sense. The last four minutes talks about Justin Long as the archetype of the hardcore Trekker, with Long talking about how he got the part and how Perisot gave him a copy of Trekkies to counter his concerns that he was going too far with the portrayal. This is definitely the best of the featurettes and is well worth checking out.
By Grabthar's Hammer, What Amazing Effects: (7:03) This is your prerequisite visual effects short, and includes both retrospective comments by the filmmakers and archived interviews from Allen, producer Mark Johnson, Stan Winston and others talking about the specific creatures and sci-fi elements that were very effects-heavy. The first few minutes are done with very broad strokes, not delving very deeply until they get to Robin Sachs’s work in prosthetics as Sarris. Sachs has a brief interview talking about how heavy the whole thing was. They then talk about the bridge set which, unlike the Trek films and shows, was actually set to shake for hits as opposed to just shaking the camera. They talk last about filming the old TV show scenes and Gordon and Parisot talk quite fondly about purposely making the sets look bad. All in all, it isn’t in-depth at all but it’s an easy enough watch.
Alien School: Creating the Thermian Race: (5:23) This short discusses the development of the Thermians and how they came to be how they’re depicted in the film. Gordon and Parisot start off with a great story about how the Thermian vocal pattern came from Colantoni, who spontaneously used it in his audition. This pretty much amounts to a Colantoni praise segment, but from all accounts it’s well-earned. They touch on their “alien school” where they taught the actors how to act and move appropriately. Missi Pyle gets a decent amount of interview time in this one, as does Colantoni, and this provides a good little spotlight on the actors who play the Thermians who may have otherwise been ignored a bit.
Actors in Space: (6:11) This piece is a wee bit celebratory of the acting profession, but is still an easy watch. The actors talk in retrospective about how much fun it was to send themselves up a bit and poke fun at actors in general. Long mentions how he’s worked with actors who are just like each of the roles in this film, and wishes he could name names—and frankly, we probably wish he could, too. The sentiment is echoed by many of the rest of the cast. Weaver talks about what it must be like to be so identified with one show to the exclusion of anything else, which adeptly segues into Allen talking about how people do that very thing with him regarding Home Improvement. Others in the cast then talks about what they’re remembered for—Mitchell for House Party, Long as the Mac guy. Rickman is, not surprisingly, the most well-spoken as he talks about the positives and negatives about being so identified with a role. It ends with the cast talking about how much fun they had and how much they enjoyed working with each other. It’s undoubtedly fluffy, but in an enjoyable way that many EPK features lack.
Sigourney Weaver Raps: (1:59) A silly but enjoyable little short, this has Weaver and others talking about a gag rap video that she did for her agent's birthday while she was on-set, which is included. Weaver's rapping is embarrassingly bad, but she clearly knows it is and Mitchell & Rockwell clowning behind her alone is worth it.
Deleted Scenes: (12:03) There are seven deleted scenes here, none of which change the plot any but do add some fun character stuff. The first has Mathesar showing Chen the engineering deck and asking a question he clearly can’t answer, which turns into some good humor when he searches for an answer. The second, which has an introduction from Gordon, Perisot, Allen and Rickman, is about Alexander’s being introduced to his room, which is has some very funny sight gags. The third has the cast arguing on the rocky planet and generally showing their ineptness and insecurities, melding into an extended bit during Jason’s battle with the rock monster that lampoons actor’s exercises, and after that is a piece where Tawny and Jason get captured and Tawny uses her wiles to get them out. There’s a scene involving Sarris trying to stop them one last time, and a final scene involving the rock monster. This is all better stuff then most deleted scenes because it’s mostly legitimately funny, though their cuts are completely understandable in terms of film length and pacing.
Thermian Audio Track: This is, undoubtedly, the oddest and most superfluous special feature ever put on a DVD. It is found both in the Features and Languages menu, and is an entire audio track translated into the Thermian’s incomprehensible language of shrieks and distorted sounds. This is absolutely hilarious for about five seconds, after which almost anyone who doesn’t have far too much time on their hands will turn it off. The comedy value is appreciated and they even did different “voices” for each of the actors, although there certainly would have been a better way for Paramount to spend their money on the DVD than this, such as a commentary track.
Theatrical Trailer: (1:54) This is the surprisingly effective trailer for the movie, which was very well-put together and certainly did its part in raising interest (and thus business) for the movie.
Previews: (4:11) The previews, which air when the disc loads and are also available from the Features menu, are for the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek film and for home video collections of Star Trek: The Original Series, Season One and Star Trek: The Motion Picture Collection on Blu-Ray.
Special Features Rating: 8.5
The 411: Galaxy Quest is a movie that proves that a spoof film can be done right without resorting to mean-spiritedness or tacky gags. Working off an excellent script by Robert Gordon and David Howard, Dean Parisot took the reigns and created a film that nailed it well enough that even the actors that it parodies professed their love of the film. The ensemble cast is almost uniformly fantastic, and the visual and creature effects were top-notch for the time to make a movie well-worth watching whether you're a Star Trek fan or not. A very good audio and video transfer combine with real and heartfelt special features to make a disc well-worth adding to your collection.
