Spaceballs: The Review
Major Cast List:
This movie is an obvious parody of Star Wars, but also references Planet
of the Apes and Alien. There are also overtones to The Wizard Of Oz,
which was filmed on most of the same sets as Spaceballs. The desert scenes
were filmed in the deserts of southern California, just across the border from
Yuma, AZ. An October shoot date was planned, but an unfortunate heat wave
slowed shooting drastically.
Spaceballs is a fairly typical Mel Brooks film, with much of his culturally
Jewish style of humor, ie, substituting "The Schwartz" for
"The Force". Also, as in many of his movies, Brooks plays
multiple roles--the Yoda-inspired Yogurt and the Emperor-inspired President
Skroob (an anagram of Brooks). Most Mel Brooks movies can be handily
lumped together--you can expect very little change in style from movie to
movie. A touch of romance, a healthy dose of puns, and a bit of T&A
tossed in. If you like this movie, you should also check out any of
Brooks' other movies: Robin Hood: Men In Tights, History Of The World, Part
1, Blazing Saddles, The Producers. If you've seen any one of those
other movies and didn't find them entertaining, you should probably avoid
Spaceballs. You should also expect frequent and repetitive plugging of his
other movies--there's even a scene with a VCR with which they watch Spaceballs,
while MAKING Spaceballs. It's enough to make Escher hang himself.
The DVD is fairly basic, with a behind-the-scenes documentary and the
trailer included as extras, plus a commentary from Mel Brooks, and French and
Spanish-language dubbing. One side of the disc is letterbox, the other is
pan-'n-scan.
I give it a recommendation to rent but not to buy, unless you get a REALLY
good deal. It's probably worth renting, particularly if you haven't seen
any of Brooks' other movies and want a good place to start.