Galaxy QuestThere is a proverb: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Galaxy Quest is a sci-fi comedy modeled both after the landmark sci-fi adventure TV series, "Star Trek", and (just as importantly) the nigh-religious reverence that continues to thrive around it. The movie is about a fictitious TV show--named "Galaxy Quest"--from the Eighties which was canceled on a cliffhanger (an all too common occurrence for sci-fi shows), featuring caricatures of the characters from "Star Trek". Years later, the cast regularly attends conventions filled with obsessed fans...including some from outer space.
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Most movies that make the attempt at poking fun at their inspiration end up doing so--whether intended or not--through the lens of derision or ridicule. However, Galaxy Quest is a rare example of one such movie that manages to highlight some of the absurdities of "Star Trek" largely through an authentic sense of respect. The standout example of this comes by way of the boss of the NSEA Protector (the movie's U.S.S. Enterprise), "Commander Peter Quincy Taggart" (Tim Allen), who in "real life" is an actor named Jason Nesmith. Watching Galaxy Quest, my first thought of seeing Jason striding onto the stage (an hour and a half late, by the accounts of his fellow guests) to uproarious applause and grandstanding at a convention center full of fans was that this was Tim Allen doing the best of William Shatner impressions, tempered by a rare mix of empathy, humor, and heroism. Jason is all but reviled by his ex-castmates, who view him as a fading star at best, an egomaniac at worst. Despite this, he (almost) always greets his fans with a smile, and stays in character for their benefit. His simpatico with the crowd is observed by castmate Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), who despite Jason's unwanted advances, respects him at least for this. These sentiments are not shared, however, by another castmate, a British actor named Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), who plays the role of the token alien, "Dr. Lazarus", and mopes about trading his past as a Shakespearean actor for this. Jason has an emotional crisis after overhearing a couple of "fans" deride him as a "joke", leading to him blowing up at an overeager fan named Brandon (Justin Long) about some technical inconsistencies on the show, and drinking himself into unconsciousness back home. When he awakens, he finds that a few of the attendees from the convention--apparently still in costume--were staring in at him through his Malibu porch window. They identify themselves as "Thermians" and implore him to come to save their race from a menacing tyrant named Sarris (Robin Sachs). The hungover Jason assumes that they are casting him for a promo video, and decides to come along. What is interesting is that Jason clearly doesn't need the money--unlike Alexander, who lives in a hovel of an apartment--but he takes the job without any discussion about pay because deep down, he loves the work. After inadvertently antagonizing Sarris in character, Jason is sent home by way of a gooey transporter, and realizes for the first time in his life that aliens are actually real. Subsequently, he recruits his former "crew" to join him in saving the galaxy, although they misunderstand the mission to be another gig like Jason did at first. But once they find themselves on the teleportation deck confronted by the Thermians in their uncamouflaged forms (resembling upright giant squids), prodding them with investigative probes, the most appropriate of responses comes from the tagalong "redshirt", Guy Fleegman (Sam Rockwell)--a primal scream.
The rest of Galaxy Quest is a combination of the comedy of mistaken identity and moments of heroic valor as these actors test their mettle against a threat from the cosmos. The crew discovers that the Thermians were a subjugated people who after receiving television transmissions from Earth, took them to represent "historical documents"...that is, they thought it was all real. (There is something terribly implausible about this, as if they never, ever watched any of the shows' credits identifying the characters as actors, but I digress.) As a result, the Thermians--led by Mathesar (Enrico Colantoni)--have reinvented their surviving culture around the TV show that was "Galaxy Quest", in appearance and spirit. They consider Commander Taggart's catchphrase, "never give up, never surrender", to be like a mantra passed down by some messiah. They have even built a full-sized, functional replica of the NSEA Protector for their saviors to command, and expect the now grown up "plucky kid genius", Lieutenant Laredo (Daryl Mitchell)--in real life, Tommy Webber--to be able to pilot it like he did on the show, much to his discomfort. Seeing the crew of "Galaxy Quest" as exemplars of bravery and heroism, the squid-like Thermians employ elaborate holographic disguises to appear human...as best as they can. They have an eerie way of always smiling at every situation, no matter how dire, which comically adds to making them look more like fans than actual aliens...which they also happen to be. The only crewmate who seems preternaturally able to take all of this in stride is Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub), who played the chief engineer, Tech Sergeant Chen on the TV show. Of course this leads to even more comedy when his assistants end up having to do all of the repairs to the ship, and he is there just to give them "moral support". This second half of Galaxy Quest represents a real trial by fire (sometimes literally) for Jason, who everybody expects to make the big decisions--even his colleagues, who know full well that he isn't really a commander. Despite this, Jason holds to the strategy that behaving like a commander is how one becomes a commander, and so relies on his impressive memory of the history of their defunct TV show to guide them through encounter after encounter...but not exclusively. At a key moment, Jason wisely turns to the very same fan he yelled at previously, Brandon, for assistance. Instead of spitefully punishing Jason for his humiliation, Brandon exemplifies the best qualities of fandom by acknowledging first that he knows that even though "Galaxy Quest" may be "just a show", that it is special to him, and then by helping his hero out of certain doom. The give and take relationship at this climactic moment of Galaxy Quest underscores the key message of the movie: that something worth cherishing is just as important as those who cherish it, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Recommended for: Fans of "Star Trek", absolutely, but also for fans of a charming and altogether lighthearted sci-fi comedy with a message about what it means to be a believer in something, even if that something may be little more than a compelling TV show. That's because, for some, it manages to speak to deeper human truths that we identify with and represents an escape for a moment into a world that embodies the best qualities of the world we wish that we lived in.
The rest of Galaxy Quest is a combination of the comedy of mistaken identity and moments of heroic valor as these actors test their mettle against a threat from the cosmos. The crew discovers that the Thermians were a subjugated people who after receiving television transmissions from Earth, took them to represent "historical documents"...that is, they thought it was all real. (There is something terribly implausible about this, as if they never, ever watched any of the shows' credits identifying the characters as actors, but I digress.) As a result, the Thermians--led by Mathesar (Enrico Colantoni)--have reinvented their surviving culture around the TV show that was "Galaxy Quest", in appearance and spirit. They consider Commander Taggart's catchphrase, "never give up, never surrender", to be like a mantra passed down by some messiah. They have even built a full-sized, functional replica of the NSEA Protector for their saviors to command, and expect the now grown up "plucky kid genius", Lieutenant Laredo (Daryl Mitchell)--in real life, Tommy Webber--to be able to pilot it like he did on the show, much to his discomfort. Seeing the crew of "Galaxy Quest" as exemplars of bravery and heroism, the squid-like Thermians employ elaborate holographic disguises to appear human...as best as they can. They have an eerie way of always smiling at every situation, no matter how dire, which comically adds to making them look more like fans than actual aliens...which they also happen to be. The only crewmate who seems preternaturally able to take all of this in stride is Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub), who played the chief engineer, Tech Sergeant Chen on the TV show. Of course this leads to even more comedy when his assistants end up having to do all of the repairs to the ship, and he is there just to give them "moral support". This second half of Galaxy Quest represents a real trial by fire (sometimes literally) for Jason, who everybody expects to make the big decisions--even his colleagues, who know full well that he isn't really a commander. Despite this, Jason holds to the strategy that behaving like a commander is how one becomes a commander, and so relies on his impressive memory of the history of their defunct TV show to guide them through encounter after encounter...but not exclusively. At a key moment, Jason wisely turns to the very same fan he yelled at previously, Brandon, for assistance. Instead of spitefully punishing Jason for his humiliation, Brandon exemplifies the best qualities of fandom by acknowledging first that he knows that even though "Galaxy Quest" may be "just a show", that it is special to him, and then by helping his hero out of certain doom. The give and take relationship at this climactic moment of Galaxy Quest underscores the key message of the movie: that something worth cherishing is just as important as those who cherish it, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Recommended for: Fans of "Star Trek", absolutely, but also for fans of a charming and altogether lighthearted sci-fi comedy with a message about what it means to be a believer in something, even if that something may be little more than a compelling TV show. That's because, for some, it manages to speak to deeper human truths that we identify with and represents an escape for a moment into a world that embodies the best qualities of the world we wish that we lived in.