Anish Raja / The Hoya
If there is one parody movie that has cemented itself as a cult classic within the genre, it’s “Spaceballs.” Riffing off “Star Wars” and utilizing every parody comedy trick in the book, “Spaceballs” proves itself to be a hilarious time, but unfortunately, that’s where my praise starts and ends. The film makes the same misstep many parodies do, leaning too much into playful mockery, resulting in awfully flat characters.
“Spaceballs,” in essence, is all of the original “Star Wars” trilogy rolled into one witty parody. The movie kicks off with a classic sci-fi shot as the Spaceballs’ ship looms over the camera. And then keeps looming. And keeps looming some more. In fact, the entire ship passes by during this shot, only to reveal a bumper sticker reading “We brake for nobody.” Suffice to say, it’s a hilarious payoff and a strong way to show what type of movie “Spaceballs” is.
Its lead antagonist, Darth Helmet — played masterfully by Rick Moranis — has the build of a Darth Vader bobblehead and steals the show in every one of his appearances. From scenes centered on the stretches of his ship to the desert moon, his comically large hats gave me a giggle every time his character struggled to balance them.
Our lead protagonist Lone Starr (Bill Pullman), a space bandit who seems to be Luke Skywalker and Han Solo rolled into one, is in some deep debt with space lord Pizza the Hutt (Dom DeLuise), a riff on Jabba the Hutt. Despite only having mere minutes of screentime, Pizza the Hutt displays a surprising amount of care that went into the production of this movie. The costume worn in the film was made from real pizza toppings and food, resulting in the most visually unsettling and gross movie villain I’ve ever seen. It gave me a truly nauseous feeling, to say the least. The crew’s passion for the film is palpable through its impressive production.
The movie soars through its plotline with ease as Lone Starr journeys to rescue a space princess in order to pay off his debt. From iconic one-liners (“I’m a Mog, half man, half dog. I’m my own best friend!”), to gags (The ship’s radar becomes “jammed” with literal raspberry jam) and countless innuendos (“I bet she gives great helmet!”), to some goofy fourth wall breaks (Darth Helmet spitting out his coffee onto the camera), the movie proves itself to be decently funny.
Considering the galactic cultural impact of the “Star Wars” movies, “Spaceballs” pokes fun at it a good amount, albeit with the consequence of many jokes not fully landing. Its funniest jab comes when Yogurt, a riff on Yoda, reveals the true power of the “Schwartz” — merchandising. What follows is what can only be described as a television ad spot for various pieces of in-universe “Spaceballs” merchandise, including Spaceball lunchboxes, blankets and the action figures Darth Helmet loves to play with so much.
“Spaceballs,” however, falls into a common pitfall of the spoof genre, leaning too much into its satire and sacrificing character depth. There’s a moment in the movie where Lone Starr and Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) are talking about their pasts and how their pasts have affected their view of love. In retrospect, I see now that the “emotional” scene was only a setup for a “virginity alert” joke, but it felt unfulfilling, not funny, when the moment was ripped away in such a manner. Other parody movies, such as “Hot Fuzz” or “Naked Gun,” balance their satire with killer action or perfectly crafted comedy, whereas “Spaceballs” has to rely on recognition of “Star Wars” for its kick. The humor kills most of the time, but beyond the funny factor, the film doesn’t have much to offer. To be fair, that might be an unfair critique, considering the film is not meant to be taken seriously in the first place, but “Star Wars” succeeds as a space opera partially for its emotional appeal. I see no reason why “Spaceballs” could not have done similarly.
Regardless, “Spaceballs” is still funny — there is no doubt there. Its jokes, while perhaps aged, still made me laugh. To that end, “Star Wars” provides a plethora of ideas to satirize as the cornerstone space opera. Zuniga’s performance as Princess Vespa is a great example of this, as Vespa’s constant complaining about the dirtiness of Lone Starr’s space RV in light of her kidnapping mere scenes ago feels reminiscent of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) from the original movie. Additionally, Princess Vespa’s side buns are eventually revealed to be headphones, which, in my opinion, is the funniest gag in the entire movie.
In the conversation of parody movies, “Spaceballs” is a standout, and for good reason. It’s a cult classic with its sharp humor and well-crafted production and does a good job of standing as a parody of the “Star Wars” franchise. While admittedly lacking any sort of punch outside of its jokes, it’s wholly entertaining and simply a fun time.