Folks, never forget that one of my personal mottos has always been -- and always will be -- "don't expect me to agree."
It's in that spirit that I have to share that despite having some truly great moments and some killer laughs I've never been all that much a fan of 1987's Spaceballs.
Yes, yes, and yes: I think Mel Brooks is probably one of the funniest storytellers around.
Yes, yes, and yes: I can appreciate the degree of lunacy that he tried to bring to Science Fiction.
And yet ... I just didn't find the film all that entertaining.
My take on Brooks' evolution as a filmmaking is that the older he got the more childish a lot of his screen antics became. The themes, characters, and ideas work on the level of your average fifth grader, and -- sigh -- I've just never been one who found that stuff all that comical.
Once more, this isn't to suggest in any way that it's film not worth seeing once. It boasts some great comic work by Brooks along with the late John Candy and the always reliable Rick Moranis. Daphne Zuniga is particularly fetching in it, as well, and the late comedienne Joan Rivers knocks her delivery out of the park just as one would expect her to. My problems with it is that Spaceballs kinda bends and weaves a bit too often: it never stays on the whole Star Wars mentality uniquely enough for me to embrace the silliness as I wanted to. This underscores my long-established belief that Science Fiction and Comedy are exceeding hard to blend and please fans of both genres ... but it is what it is.
I do, however, find comfort in the fact that Brooks actually consulted George Lucas on the project. As the legend goes, Brooks wanted to make sure that 'he got it all right,' and -- at a private screening while the thing was still being assembled -- the Star Wars creator is said to have laughed himself silly. He apparently even offered the services of his effects company -- Industrial Light And Magic -- to help perfect the aesthetic needed to truly 'sell the sizzle,' and cinematic history was made. (If I remember correctly, Lucas' only request to Brooks was that there be no product merchandising tied in to Spaceballs, and allegedly the funnyman had no problem agreeing.)
So ... laugh yourself silly if that's what you wish ... and do so by celebrating Spaceballs in all of its comical glory on its birthday.
-- EZ
It's in that spirit that I have to share that despite having some truly great moments and some killer laughs I've never been all that much a fan of 1987's Spaceballs.
Yes, yes, and yes: I think Mel Brooks is probably one of the funniest storytellers around.
Yes, yes, and yes: I can appreciate the degree of lunacy that he tried to bring to Science Fiction.
And yet ... I just didn't find the film all that entertaining.
My take on Brooks' evolution as a filmmaking is that the older he got the more childish a lot of his screen antics became. The themes, characters, and ideas work on the level of your average fifth grader, and -- sigh -- I've just never been one who found that stuff all that comical.
Once more, this isn't to suggest in any way that it's film not worth seeing once. It boasts some great comic work by Brooks along with the late John Candy and the always reliable Rick Moranis. Daphne Zuniga is particularly fetching in it, as well, and the late comedienne Joan Rivers knocks her delivery out of the park just as one would expect her to. My problems with it is that Spaceballs kinda bends and weaves a bit too often: it never stays on the whole Star Wars mentality uniquely enough for me to embrace the silliness as I wanted to. This underscores my long-established belief that Science Fiction and Comedy are exceeding hard to blend and please fans of both genres ... but it is what it is.
I do, however, find comfort in the fact that Brooks actually consulted George Lucas on the project. As the legend goes, Brooks wanted to make sure that 'he got it all right,' and -- at a private screening while the thing was still being assembled -- the Star Wars creator is said to have laughed himself silly. He apparently even offered the services of his effects company -- Industrial Light And Magic -- to help perfect the aesthetic needed to truly 'sell the sizzle,' and cinematic history was made. (If I remember correctly, Lucas' only request to Brooks was that there be no product merchandising tied in to Spaceballs, and allegedly the funnyman had no problem agreeing.)
So ... laugh yourself silly if that's what you wish ... and do so by celebrating Spaceballs in all of its comical glory on its birthday.
-- EZ
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