Spaceballs: Critic Reviews

If it isn't likely to generate what Mr. Brooks himself refers to as 'Spaceballs II: The Search for More Money, neither is it anything less than gentle, harmless satire that occasionally has real bite.

The jokes in the films are all pretty much in the same vein -- you might call it borsch-belt postmodern -- and they're all on about the same level, too.

How do you review a movie like this, anyway? I guess by saying whether you laughed or not. I did laugh, but not enough to recommend the film.

The film's low-tech styling is roughly the cardboard inversion of the cinematic machines it parodies, and Brooks seems less inclined than usual to push the overkill urges too far.

Mel Brooks will do anything for a laugh. Unfortunately, what he does in Spaceballs, a misguided parody of the Star Wars adventures, isn't very funny.

The crew flings itself energetically through space in search of laughs, but it will never penetrate the galaxy where Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein traced their giddy orbits.

The jokes about the more calculating aspects of George Lucas's franchise are particularly telling. Remember, the Schwartz will be with you always.

Unforgiveable then, unforgiveable now.

It's mostly forced humor all the way, a movie that rarely measures up to adequate kitsch.

Goofy parody mocks the Star Wars series.

Ainda que nao consiga recapturar a acidez e a inteligencia de seus esforcos da primeira fase da carreira, Brooks consegue divertir gracas a algumas belas sacadas e ao simples conceito de Moranis como Dark Helmet.

This is possibly the last great film that Mel Brooks directed

Despite the dirty jokes hidden in plain sight ('Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz!'), Spaceballs is a PG-rated comedy that makes silliness sublime. [Blu-ray]

Mel Brooks trashes Star Wars; very funny

Typically, the best conceits end in pratfalls, and non-Brooks fans may find that the gravitational pull towards the thumpingly obvious outweighs the wit.

One of the few screwball comedies that everyone must experience at least once.

Most jokes have a forced quality, but there's something gleefully self-aware about them, like the vaudeville comedian whose act consists of telling bad jokes and laughing at them, but doing it all with exquisite timing.

Brooks displays an obvious affection for the sci-fi stuff he's spoofing, which helps the laughs to flow forth a whole lot easier.

Brooks jumped the shark with Spaceballs

at its best, plays like the action in Star Wars, awakening a sense of pure enjoyment of movies

Absurdist 'Star Wars' parody; Brooks at his near wildest