Galaxy Quest

It's always impossible to predict which movies will become cult favourites. I don't think anyone would have guessed that Tim Allen would be involved with a single movie that would be fondly remembered ten years later. Yet here we are a decade after Galaxy Quest was released and it's still beloved by an ever-growing audience. The movie is as surprisingly fresh and clever today as it was during its original release, taking the Three Amigos and Tropic Thunder premise of spoiled actors forced to become their heroic roles and applying it to a thinly disguised version of Star Trek. Tim Allen stars as the William Shatner figure, easily giving his best performance as an overpaid, washed up TV star (I wonder how he pulled off that role?) kidnapped by an alien race who think his '80s sci-fi drama Galaxy Quest is real, and forced to battle some evil rubber aliens. Alan Rickman is perfectly cast as a bitter British actor unable to revive his career as a thespian following his involvement with the show. Sigourney Weaver is also solid in the ironically generic-pretty-girl role, but the real standouts in the cast have to be Tony Shalhoub and Sam Rockwell (still just one big role from being a star), who milk some of the biggest laughs in the film from a small amount of screen time as the mock TV show's Scottie and an expendable security officer, respectively. The movie may not be a comedic masterpiece but the knowing screenplay and absurdly talented cast make it a film that continues to be hilarious viewing after viewing. Galaxy Quest is one of those rare films that has its cake and eats it too, mocking the conventions of cheesy sci-fi adventures while also managing to be an entertaining sci-fi adventure (it's also helped the aging process, since the dated CGI effects now feel like part of the camp). The new DVD features a collection of documentaries with interviews with the cast, director and writers, who all clearly loved making the film and are thrilled that Galaxy Quest still has legs ten years later. I'd imagine that every one will feel the same way in another ten years as well.