Spaceballs: The Dead Projectionist Review
Spaceballs (1987)
Directed by Mel Brooks
In some ways, Mel Brooks’ "Spaceballs" is sad to watch. Not in that it’s a bad movie--"Spaceballs" has good qualities--but because it marked a sharp decline in Brooks’ brilliant career as a writer and director.
The path of Brooks’ day in Hollywood rides along solid genre spoofs, from Westerns ("Blazing Saddles") to Hitchcock ("High Anxiety"). But unlike most directors who follow a hit-and-miss pattern (even Spielberg has his flops), Brooks’ career has followed an almost seasonal path. Believe me, the metaphor works. From the newness of spring ("The Producers") and a bright summer ("Young Frankenstein"), before descending into fall ("History of The World, Part I"), and finally the dead of winter ("Robin Hood: Men In Tights"). Yeech…
Along this flow, "Spaceballs" ranks on the downside of Brooks’ resume. Mired in silliness and fourth-grade gags, yet showing glimpses of the man’s old comic genius. The plot is....hold on, does it matter? We’re not talking "Star Wars" here, but sci-fi is the genre that Brooks parodies this time. The movie is a simple formula. Rick Moranis plays a nerdy Vader knockoff named "Dark Helmet," opposite of Bill Pullman’s Solo/Skywalker hybrid hero "Lonestar." The late John Candy also appears as Lonestar’s half-man, half-dog sidekick.
Later a princess (Daphne Zuniga) is kidnapped, there’s a big chase, good and evil fight, the universe is saved, etc. Pretty weak material for Brooks. However, "Spaceballs" does have its positive sides.
Moranis is hilarious as Helmet, a nerdy tyrant who enjoys dolls and hot coffee while watching radar. Pullman is okay as Lonestar, but sadly, he and Candy have little to work with. "Spaceballs" also includes some clever gags on merchandising, and Brooks’ old spin on Brecht’s "fourth wall" device still works as actors bump into cameras and stunt doubles are confused.
Otherwise, it’s easy to I.D. the major flaw of "Spaceballs," and why Brooks’ creativity nosedived so badly in the 80s. In a word: it’s "P.C." Strangled by mass media’s obsession with offending nobody, Brooks’ comic sixgun was simply disarmed and taken away. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself this: Could a movie like "Blazing Saddles" be made today with its off-color gags and frequent use of the "n-word"? Blame it on Johnny Cochrane, but the answer is no way. Even though the movie’s hero was black in Sheriff Bart (played hilariously by Cleavon Little), the media lost its common sense ages ago and I doubt a revival due. With his best weapons gone, Brooks had little left to work with, and we’ve seen the results. Bland, pointless jokes lacking edge or originality.
It’s truly sad, and really not Brooks’ fault. As in pop music, markets (and sensibilities) just change. And those who don’t (and can’t) adapt, like Brooks, are simply left behind.