Forgotten Friday – Spaceballs

Thanks for checking out our Forgotten Fridays feature. This is a feature to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share. They may not be old, maybe not forgotten, but they are not new. Just fun to share.

Today’s review is Spaceballs

Back when spoof movies were clever and funny, you could throw in a fart joke or kick someone in the balls, but now spoof is synonymous with brainless less than funny potty humour with no heart or clever quotable lines.

So today when I was having trouble finding a Forgotten Friday, I posted a Spaceballs quote and decided that today was going to be Spaceballs. I know its not forgotten, but this movie is over 20 years old, and if you haven’t heard of it then its about time you did!

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Mel Brooks
Staring:Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, Joan Rivers
Released: June 24, 1987

THE GENERAL IDEA

In Mel Brooks grand tradition of genre spoofs, this one takes on the space opera that pokes fun at other films of the genre, but is primarily poking at Star Wars.

When a Druish Princess (from the planet Druidia) is kidnapped and held ransom by the militant Spaceballs, King Roland hires rogue ruffian Lone Starr and his co-pilot Mog Barfolomew to rescue her. Lone Starr has troubles of his own from the infamous Pizza the Hutt, and therefore takes on the task in hopes of paying off his debts.

THE GOOD

The tongue in cheek poking at Star Wars is all done tastefully with comparing lightsabres to penis size, and potty humour involving Force choking your balls. The gags are non-stop. There is no slow part of this film as time and time again shameless shots are taken at Star Wars as they break the fourth wall and acknowledge they are a movie. Yogurt (Mel Brooks dressed as a Jewish Yoda) admits the real power behind the Schwartz was Merchandizing! And when they resort to a copy of Spaceballs the Movie to find the heroes (found on a shelf with a number of other Brooks films), there is comedy wordplay gold there.

The characters are all perfect, and we even get a cameo appearance from Michael Winslow (the sound effects guy from Police Academy) Ok, that cameo had relevance in 1987, and most of you wont remember Winslow after that as his gimmick got old.

THE BAD

This is spoof done to perfection as only Mel Brooks can do. Somehow spoofing turned into something petty and without humour. I have little bad to say about this film that isn’t directly related to the lack of more spoof films of its calibre.

I also think there was a missed opportunity to have Spaceballs 3 as the followup titled The Search for the Sequel. Brilliant.

OVERALL

I just love this film to death. Part of that love comes from my love of sci-fi, specifically Star Wars and the deep respect I have for Mel Brooks for making racy potty humour actually clever and entertaining while really understanding how to poke fun respectfully without insulting. Its a hard craft to master and Brooks has it.

I am going to introduce a new rating system for my Forgotten Fridays picks.

Since all of these Forgotten Friday reviews are going to be what I would already give a high rating to, I had a Tv, Rent or Buy scale going on, but it would seem that an overwhelming majority of my picks get a BUY rating.

So with every Forgotten Friday you see from now on, you get to rate your anticipation for yourself!

TV – If you are at least a little curious, catch it if it comes on TV.
Rent – If it is something you have heard of and forgotten, or just remember enjoying this as

much as I did once upon a time, go rent it.
Buy – But if you are like me, and you agree with my review you should go buy it. If its featured here, I already have.

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25 thoughts on “Forgotten Friday – Spaceballs

  1. I know it’s symplistic but everytime I watch the end and they are trying to turn off the self destruct using the cancelation button and it has the tag hanging off of it saying out of order which helmet replies “fuck…even in the future nothing works”. I die laughing. Great pick Rodney…a classic indeed.

  2. Man, how I love this movie. This movie is so quotable and so great. This is also a movie on it’s own as well. I mean it is a spoof of star wars but it’s a movie on it’s own.

  3. I don’t know about all of you peoples, but I’d really like to see a pre 1980s “Forgotten Fridays” one of these weeks, most of which seem to be films from around the mid-80s to mid-90s. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, Rodney, that there is a wealth of fantastic movies made prior to the 80s (they’re probably more “forgotten” than many of these too) It seems like there are a handful of themes that tie a lot of these chosen movies together, as well, and I’d personally like to see the feature expand a bit. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with it, just a suggestion. You’re thoughts on the matter, Rodney?

    That being said, I have a lot of fond memories watching “Spaceballs”! I drifted off to sleep almost every night of Christmas break to the sounds of Yogurt and Barf the year I got the VHS in my stocking.

    P.S. I’m not some old fart, I was born with barely a toe dipped in the pastel waters we refer to as the 1980s. So, most of the Forgotten Friday films have been before my time, as it is. Though I’ve seen most of them, so far.

      1. My favorite decade too David Lopan! (at the moment, at least) I’ve just gotten into 70’s films within the past year and a half and I’m in love with it. I haven’t seen “Alfredo Garcia” or “Two Lane” (almost compulsively purchased the Criterion version the other day) they both are in my Netflix though. It’s tough to absorb prior decades of film when living in a house where you’re outnumbered by people who exclusively watch modern films. I push forward though.

        I’ve been scrounging my public library more recently (which pretty much only carries 1950’s movies) and I’ve been VERY pleasantly suprised! Dave, if you aren’t too familiar (like me) to 50’s films check them out! They’re by no means anything like 70’s films, but the level technique and simplicity of storytelling is outstanding in many. So far, to me, it’s better than the 40’s (50’s is a pretty damn golden age if you ask me). “Ace In The Hole” is damn fine (any Billy Wilder ive seen has been pretty amazing), and “A Place In The Sun” (which I rented because I saw Liz Taylor on the cover and had to pick my tongue off the floor, so I didn’t expect much) kicked my ass! I didn’t think they made films like that in the 50’s! Check it out!

    1. You have mentioned this before Matt, and while I would love to, there are not a lot of movies from before the 80s that stick with me all that much.

      I was 8 when the 80s came rolling around and short of Disney classics and Dukes of Hazzard, I didn’t watch much in theaters in the 80s.

      These all draw from my own experiences.

      1. Yeah, I’m sure I sound like a broken record sometimes, forgot I brought it up before. Fair enough though, I think I get this whole “Forgotten Fridays” thing finally, old movies that you’ve only just recently seen wouldn’t really count (plus if you don’t like the movie it wouldn’t count either) and I know for damn sure when I was younger (even just a couple years ago!) the movies that really stuck with me could definately all be tied together by common themes.

        You know what could be cool? A feature where the writer picks a film they haven’t ever seen before, from a past decade (maybe the 70s and prior) and reviews it. Maybe start with older supposed classics, or box office darlings, reader suggestions, or just older flicks that sound interesting. Then say if and why they liked it or not. It could get some readers to branch out, or rethink some classics of yesteryear, or discuss what they appreciate (or not) about an old movie, whether they really “like” it or not. It’d be fun too. You can call it…. “New Old Stuff”… haha…. Or not.

        Alright I’ll stop brainstorming in the comments section now.

      2. Not a bad idea. I could do a “I havent’ seen that” Feature where I find movies with an actor I like that I haven’t seen yet.

        My first would be “The Ten Commandments” with Paul Rudd introducing 10 short stories revolving around the commandments. My wife LOVES Rudd so I picked it up out of the bargain bin. It was SO BAD!! lol

      3. Dear Lord, Rodney! Wish you stated you were going to rent that movie, cuz I would’ve been shouting on here “don’t subject yourself to that movie. What an aweful waste of time that will be!”

        LOL

        As for Spaceballs, I loved it. So much, in fact, that one of the first words my Godson ever learned was “Lone Starr”. And he did it mimicking Dark Helmet! What a great memory! And a great film!

  4. I get so much shit from people when I say I love Spaceballs over Blazing Saddles. Spaceballs is genius. I also really enjoyed Silent Movie which I just finally saw a few weeks ago. Did you like that one Rodney?

      1. I saw it on Encore and I was totally surprised. great cameos with different actors clearly having fun with this movie like Paul Newman, James Caan, Anne Bancroft, and Burt Reynolds. So funny.

  5. Well I wouldn’t call this film “forgotton” because lots of people still talk about it. However, I would recommend History of the World or Blazing Saddles. However, best spoof movie EVER!!

    1. “This is a feature to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share. They may not be old, maybe not forgotten, but they are not new. Just fun to share.”

      First paragraph of the post. Forgotten Fridays are not necessarily forgotten.

  6. “Yogurt! I hate Yogurt! Even with strawberries!”

    This movie was the first spoof I had ever seen and I loved it so much as an 8-year-old kid that when it came out on DVD, I bought it. I still watch it when I’m looking for something really funny and it totally cracks me up!

    There’s a cafe in my town called Lonestar and every time I look at it, I hear Dark Helmet saying “there’s only one man who would dare to use raspberry jam. Lone Starr!”

    This seriously IS the best spoof movie ever made!

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