Vaudeville pratfalls, sight gags, and ribald one-liners have always been producer-director Mel Brooks's mainstay. Here the jokes are tossed haphazardly from Brooks's gag bag and roll out ineffectively in a spoof of the "Star Wars" films. The plot, such as it is, offers pretty princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga), daughter of kindly King Roland (Dick Van Patten),...read more
Vaudeville pratfalls, sight gags, and ribald one-liners have always been producer-director Mel Brooks's mainstay. Here the jokes are tossed haphazardly from Brooks's gag bag and roll out ineffectively in a spoof of the "Star Wars" films. The plot, such as it is, offers pretty princess
Vespa (Daphne Zuniga), daughter of kindly King Roland (Dick Van Patten), as a kidnap victim of evil Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis). Space adventurer Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his sidekick, Barf the Mawg (John Candy), are assigned to retrieve Vespa. Thus begins a ridiculous odyssey through space
with blazing rockets, death rays, and firefights among the stars, resulting in a slaphappy ending. This is a formula film for Brooks, one that has long ago worn out its welcome with viewers. Only Brooks shines momentarily as the president of the planet Spaceball and, in a dual role, as that of his
crinkled, ancient adviser, Yogurt. It's mostly forced humor all the way, a movie that rarely measures up to adequate kitsch. Aimed at younger audiences, SPACEBALLS misses its mark.