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| Spaceballs - 1987 |
Coming up next, we have 1987's "Spaceballs", a spoof on a bunch of galactic-themed movies, most specifically "Star Wars".
The film's cast includes Mel Brooks, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, John Candy, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, Joan Rivers, George Wyner, Stephen Tobolowsky, John Hurt, Brenda Strong, and Dom DeLuise.
Well, once upon a time warp, President Skroob of the Planet Spaceball is fast losing his planet's air supply. So, he's decided to steal some. The planet he has chosen is Druidia.
President Skroob enlists the help of Dark Helmet, a villain with a very large helmet and a very, very large ship (cue evil music and oxygenated breathing sounds here...oh, and I love the necktie, by the way).
At the end of his long walk, Dark Helmet tears open his mask and screams, "I can't breath in this thing!" The plan is for Dark Helmet to go to Planet Druidia, kidnap Princess Vespa, and demand the planet's air supply as a ransom.
They arrive at Planet Druidia, where Princess Vespa is scheduled to be married. However, she has no plans to get hitched.
Before the Spaceballs can kidnap the Princess, she and droid-of-honor Dot Matrix run away from the wedding and blast off into the galaxy. They are pursued by the Spaceballs and shots are fired from blasters. "What's going on?" asks the Princess. "It's either the Fourth of July or someone's trying to kill us!" exclaims Dot Matrix.
Flying through space at the same time as Princess Vespa and Dot Matrix are hero for hire Lone Starr and his co-pilot Barf, a half human/half dog mix.
They are currently being pursued by notorious gangster Pizza the Hutt. Lone Starr owes Pizza a lot of money.
Lone Starr and Barf are hired by the princess's father, King Roland, to bring her back to Druidia. The princess is very upset about the arrangement.
They end up crash landing on a desert planet, a situation which eventually involves Dot Matrix wheezing for an oilcan.
Hard on their heels is Dark Helmet, who is literally combing the desert for clues to their whereabouts.
However, they will be hard-pressed to find them. The gang has found themselves in an weird looking underground cavern. "What is this place?" asks Princess Vespa. "It looks like the Temple of Doom," remarks Barf. "Well, it sure ain't Temple Beth Israel," muses Dot Matrix.
It's actually the home of a very-wise being named Yogurt, who teaches Lone Star about a power called "the Schwartz" and how to control it.
Eventually, Lone Star must battle Dark Helmet using "the Schwartz". And I love their verbal interaction.
Dark Helmet: Before you die, there is something you should
know about us, Lone
Starr.
Lone Starr: What?
Dark Helmet: I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s
former roommate.
Lone Starr: What's that make us?
Dark Helmet: Absolutely nothing! Which is what you are about to become.
Well, you can probably guess that everything turns out alright in the end. President Skroob and Dark Helmet are defeated. Lone Starr and Princess Vespa fall in love and get married. And all is right with the universe.
Cast rundown:
Mel Brooks...............................President Skroob/Yogurt
Rick Moranis.............................Dark Helmet
Bill Pullman..............................Lone Starr
John Candy..............................Barf
Daphne Zuniga.........................Princess Vespa
Dick Van Patten........................King Roland
Joan Rivers..............................Dot Matrix
George Wyner...........................Colonel Sandurz
Stephen Tobolowsky..................Captain of the Guard
John Hurt................................Himself
Brenda Strong..........................Nurse
Dom DeLuise............................Pizza The Hutt
And that's it for Spaceballs. Creator Mel Brooks worked alongside George Lucas for the post-production. Lucas later sent Brooks a note saying how much he enjoyed the film and the he was afraid he might bust something from laughing so much.
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