Galaxy Quest (1999)

Director:

Dean Parisot

Writers (WGA):

David Howard (story)
David Howard (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The show has been cancelled...but the adventure is just beginning.

Plot:

The alumni cast of a cult space TV show have to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Actor | Costume | Convention | Cult Comedy

Awards:

7 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Tim Allen	...	Jason Nesmith
Sigourney Weaver	...	Gwen DeMarco
Alan Rickman	...	Alexander Dane
Tony Shalhoub	...	Fred Kwan
Sam Rockwell	...	Guy Fleegman
Daryl Mitchell	...	Tommy Webber
Enrico Colantoni	...	Mathesar
Robin Sachs	...	Sarris
Patrick Breen	...	Quellek
Missi Pyle	...	Laliari
Jed Rees	...	Teb
Justin Long	...	Brandon
Jeremy Howard	...	Kyle
Kaitlin Cullum	...	Katelyn
Jonathan Feyer	...	Hollister

Also Known As:

Captain Starshine (USA) (original script title)
Earth Dick (USA) (working title)
GalaxyQuest (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some action violence, mild language and sensuality.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Iceland:LH (video rating) | USA:PG (certificate #37085) | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Denmark:11 (DVD rating) | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:PG | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | Philippines:G

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Reportedly originally developed by Harold Ramis for Disney, but Ramis dropped out before production began.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tommy is taking the Protector out of the space dock, he scrapes the hull along the side of the dock, but the port engine should be in the way.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Laredo: Exiting the time knot now, sir.
Tech Sgt. Chen: We're alive.
Laredo: We made it, Commander. We made it.
Dr. Lazarus: By Grabthar's hammer, we live to tell the tale.
Voice of Computer: Systems registering functional.
Lt. Tawny Madison: All systems are working, Commander.
Commander Peter Quincy Taggart: I don't like it. It was too easy.
Laredo: Wait. Oh, no! They're everywhere. There are time knots opening everywhere.
Lt. Tawny Madison: A trap!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Meet the Spartans (2008)

A great film, much underrated at the box-office.

I generally rate films highly based on how often and how much I'd like to watch them again. I can watch most films more than once, but only a few have the necessary qualities to watch over and over again. Comedy films are never that high on my list of "watch agains". After seeing a joke or comic scene once, it's hard for it to have the same impact again and again. I well recall being in tears of laughter when I first saw Airplane at the cinema. But now I find it hard going and even the inflatable pilot only raises a smile.

So it's rare that a film like Galaxy Quest (a scifi comedy) comes along, but very welcome when it does. There's a lot of homage paid to Star Trek, of course, and old scifi shows in general and fans of those will have no trouble spotting the moments culled from those shows.

The cast are all exemplary in their roles as ex scifi stars who get catapulted into the real thing and have to save the galaxy. Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver give good, solid performances here. In particular, Weaver shows a talent for comedy here that was lacking in Ghostbusters. Tony Shalhoub's bumbling, out-of-his-depth technician is also a nice addition.

But out of all of them two really shine for me. Alan Rickman, whose facial expressions throughout the film just have you laughing out loud without needing to listen to what's being said. And Sam Rockwell, who plays the "extra crewman" who's always convinced he's going to get killed, because he's a nobody and not one of the regular cast.

The whole film is chock full of delightful silliness and memorable scenes, such as where they enlist the aid of geeks to navigate them through their own ship as the geeks know the plans off by heart.

A great film, much underrated at the box-office and destined to become a classic.