Directed by Mel Brooks
Released June 24, 1987
Written by Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan, & Ronny Graham
Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB
"Planet Spaceballs' President Skroob sends Lord Dark Helmet to steal plant Druidia's abundant supply of air to replenish their own, and only Lone Starr can stop them."
I remember the reason I first watched this movie was because of a recommendation from a friend. I had seen Mel Brooks' film Robin Hood Men in Tights (which is easily one of my favorite films) so I figured this movie might not be so bad. The only thing that I was worried about was the fact that I had never seen Star Wars before (I still haven't). Sci-Fi movies just aren't my thing, except when it comes to Spaceballs. Spaceballs is the exception to the rule because it doesn't feel like a Sci-Fi movie, it just feels like a comedy where everyone is making fun of movies, Star Wars, and cracking jokes about each other.
The whole goal of Spaceballs is to make fun of Star Wars, in fact that is the point of many of Mel Brooks' films, but we will talk about that later. This whole movie is pretty much a gag, there is not an honest moment in it. Between Lord Dark Helmet, Barf the mog, the Schwartz, light sabers, and the endless dialogue that turns everything into a joke. The movie is just one big gag, which is why I enjoy it so much. I don't have to know anything about Star Wars or understand/like Sci-Fi in order to enjoy these jokes.
There isn't a moment where their isn't a physical or verbal joke happening, which you would think might become obnoxious, but it doesn't. That is because some of these jokes are only funny if you are paying close attention, if you understand the basics of Star Wars, or if you know Mel Brooks' tricks that he fits in all his movies. So some of these jokes might go over your head and you don't even know it until you have watched the movie multiple times (like I have).
One of the many ongoing gags in this movie is the constant breaking of the fourth wall and talking about the movie itself. First of all, something interesting to know is that Mel Brooks said he had George Lucas' permission to parody Star Wars in anyway he wanted. The one thing that Lucas stressed though, is that no merchandise can be made from this movie. That is why there are so many gags in Yogurt's merchandising. In fact, Mel Brooks says that that is one of his favorite jokes in the film. They are breaking the fourth wall (talked about in the Ferris Bueller blog) in this by talking about the movie itself, which normally is not done in movies (except in Mel Brooks films where he does it all the time).
Mel Brooks' other favorite joke is when they break the fourth wall and talk about the movie as it is happening. They break the wall often in this movie, mostly from Lord Dark Helmet, but this is one of the times where they are talking about the movie as it is happening. In the merchandise scene, they talk about the movie as a product, but in this scene they are talking about it as they are shooting it. Almost like the actors are breaking character by referencing the movie in this way. Take a look, it is pretty funny.
The other times they break the fourth wall is seen in the first clip, where Lone Starr and Lord Dark Helmet are fighting and one of them knock a crew person off a chair. Then there is a scene towards the end of the movie where Barf, Lone Starr, Princess Vespa, and Dot are being chased. They are caught but then the people chasing them realize it is their stunt doubles. This movie, in simple terms, never had a fourth wall built because as soon as it was built back up Mel Brooks decided to knock it right back down again. This is a movie built on three walls.
Now let's talk about Mel Brooks for a moment. This man is a genius for making fun of movies, genres, pop culture, etc. You name it and he has probably made a joke out of it. His favorite jokes to make are jewish jokes and ones about Hitler. I love that he never takes movies too serious because sometimes we need to just laugh about the movie industry. Movies are meant for people to enjoy and I think too often directors focus more on the cinematography or the production value of the film. It is nice to just sit and watch a movie that has some questionable acting and story lines, but was made simply to make you laugh. It is hard to find these kinds of movies, so a gem like Mel Brooks has made his career out of making people laugh with these kinds of movies.
Speaking of learning to laugh at the industry, Mel Brooks is also amazing at laughing at himself. He cameos in almost all, if not all, of his films. Especially, in this movie where he has a larger role than most of his movies (President Skroob and Yogurt). Normally, when he is in the movie, he takes some of the hardest hits in terms of jokes said or jokes made about him. He reminds me of another popular director who likes to cameo in all of his movies: Quentin Tarantino. Except Mel Brooks is a better actor. It is also fun to read about some of the other things that Mel Brooks also puts or does in his movies. If you have seen even two of his movies, most of these fun facts make a lot of sense.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000316/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
The last thing I want to talk about, briefly, is John Candy. He is the shinning gem in this film. As the trusty sidekick, I think he does more than just act as the sidekick. He was also a very funny man to begin with, so this film only highlighted that more. He was an actor that we lost too soon, dying in 1994 from a heart attack at age 44. You will see later that he pops up in another blog. Not enough can be said about his line of work. Just like I have made clear that anything that John Hughes created I will watch, the same goes for any movie that John Candy was in.
Barf: "I'm a mog: half man, half dog. I'm my own best friend!"
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