What’s the only thing better than ‘Star Wars’? Why, a Mel Brooks parody of ‘Star Wars’, of course! That’s why today, ‘Spaceballs’ is the subject of this week’s Throwback Thursday, ScienceFiction.com’s ongoing column dedicated to the great science fiction of the past.
I think everyone knew they were in for a treat with this movie the second the famous scrawling ‘Star Wars’-text said “If you can read this, you don’t need glasses”, but it was the appearance of Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet that really sealed the deal. From the signaled being jammed (with raspberry jam), to his famous line (spoiler alert) of “I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s former roommate, Dark Helmet,” Moranis turns out gold every time he is on screen.
As you can see, ‘Spaceballs’ is a spot-on parody of the much beloved ‘Star Wars’ movies. Lone Starr plays the part of Luke and Han Solo, Princess Vespa is Leia, Barf is mutt-like alien that takes place of Chewbacca, and Jabba the Hutt becomes Pizza the Hutt (which incidentally is my favorite pun of the movie).
If you think I yell “Pizza the Hutt!” every time I go near a Pizza Hut, you are absolutely correct. If you also think I threaten people by telling them “pizza is going to send out for you,” you are also correct.
‘Spaceballs’ is a classic movie, studded with the best comedic talent of the 1980s (John Candy is there, for goodness sakes!). The comedy of it is never outdated, and even if you’ve never seen it, it is sure to make you laugh right from the beginning, to when they physically comb the desert, or compare lightsabers to length of a man’s… genitalia.
So, if you haven’t seen ‘Spaceballs,’ get on it! If you have, why not watch it again? No one pays such homage to a sci-fi classic while poking fun at it in quite they way Mel Brooks can, and it is always worth the watch.
