Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs is one of my favorite comedies of all time. Of course, comedy is easily the most subjective genre out there, but for me, this film just nails its target so often that it’s impossible not to smile at all of the loving fun it pokes at Star Wars and countless other space operas that inspired this piece of cinematic idiocy. Brooks, of course, is a comedy legend, having made such brilliant works as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and High Anxiety, but this is the effort from him that I’ve seen the most, and because he was so warm with his sense of humor and never overly cruel, you’re able to see how his satirical targets are born out of a place of love for the source material he’s riffing on.
Everyone in the having-a-blast cast was riotous, with special mention needing to be given to Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Joan Rivers, Daphne Zuniga, Michael Winslow and Dick Van Patten. Cinematographer Nick McLean has a very cool resume; ditto the film’s editor Conrad Buff. Spaceballs is one of a handful of comedies, including all three The Naked Gun entries, Airplane, Caddyshack, and Animal House, that I could watch at any point of the day and pee my diaper from laughing. Honestly, I don’t fully trust people who aren’t a fan of this movie. Now if only they had made Spaceballs 3: The Search for Spaceballs 2…!
Review by Nick Clement
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Spaceballs
Summary
Spaceballs is one of a handful of comedies, including all three The Naked Gun entries, Airplane, Caddyshack, and Animal House, that I could watch at any point of the day and pee my diaper from laughing
