Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW
Galaxy Quest
MPA Rating:
for some action violence, mild language and sensuality.
for some action violence, mild language and sensuality.
Reviewed by: Gabe Rodriguez
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Average |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Preteen to Adult |
| Genre: | Sci-Fi Comedy |
| Length: | 1 hr. 42 min. |
| Year of Release: | 1999 |
| USA Release: |
Relevant Issues
Aliens (extraterrestrials)
What does the Bible say about intelligent life on other planets? Answer
Are we alone in the universe? Answer
Does Scripture refer to life in space? Answer
questions and answers about the origin of life
| Featuring | Sigourney Weaver, Tim Allen, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell |
| Director |
Dean Parisot |
| Producer | Mark Johnson, Charles Newirth |
| Distributor |
Definitely the biggest surprise of the 1999 Christmas holiday season, “Galaxy Quest” is also one of the funniest and wittiest comedies of the year! This comedy stars Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver as two has-been stars of an old TV show called “Galaxy Quest” (similarities to “Star Trek” run ramped). At a “Galaxy Quest” convention, the washed up cast is confronted by real aliens who approach them to come help save their planet, believing the intercepted TV signals of the now off-air program that portray the cast as real heroes were factual accounts of actual events. The cast disbelievingly goes along with the aliens and get themselves into more trouble than they can comprehend. Hilarity ensues.
Allen and Weaver are excellent, especially Weaver, shedding her normally serious skin for a fun and silly role. Support from Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Alan Rickman, and Tony Shaloub is perfectly funny. The writing is sharp and clever and moves swiftly. All in all, “Galaxy Quest” is a hoot and a half.
From a Christian perspective, there is little to be offended by. Some profanity (mostly “d*mn” and “a**”), including at least one instance of the Lord’s name being taken in vain, and slapstick violence. There is also some sexual innuendo, though not much, and it would certainly fly over the heads of anyone under 13 or so. There is no sex or nudity, but some cleavage.
Anyone over age nine will find much to enjoy in “Galaxy Quest”.
Initially, I didn’t know what to expect when I went to see this movie, but I was very glad I went. I came out with my face hurting from laughing so much. It was witty, clever, and comparatively clean. [4/4]
Alida, age 21
When I first went to see this movie I was not expecting much at all. But after it ended I was impressed! It was one of the funniest movies I’d seen in a long time, and I found it to also be pretty clean. I definitely want to see it again! [4½/4]
Stephanie, age 18
I thought this was a great comedy filled with clean humor and clever dialogue. Though there were a few scenes they could have done without, all in all this is a comedy a whole family can watch and enjoy, which isn’t very common nowadays. [3½/4½]
Teenager
Thoroughly enjoyable. [4/4½]
Bill Holmes, age 47
We see very few movies at the theatre, but my husband and I generally enjoyed this one. It was very funny and well written, directed, and acted. However, I would not recommend the movie. The “drunk scene” of Tim Allen was not necessary, and quite vulgar. Drunks are cowards and sad, not funny. I must say though, the most offensive thing to me was the ridiculous way Sigourney Weaver’s shirt is ripped half way off of her and she finishes the movie with half of her bra and cleavage totally exposed. Talk about demeaning to women! The stupidity of it was embarrassing to me as a women, and I certainly wouldn’t want my teenage son to think of women in such a way. Too bad Hollywood always seems to ruin a nice little movie. [2½/4]
Joanne, age 46
The wife and I decided to see this with a little apprehension. Not knowing what to expect. What a nice surprise for a comedy! As other reviewer have said a few offenses, but nothing major. A nice comedic farce on the space gener. We walked away from the movie with a smile and were chuckling all the way home in the car! [3½/4]
Lee Getz, age 47
This movie was simply one of the most hilarious and exciting movies I have seen in some time. The spoof on Star Trek was pulled off and actually kept you looking for little side humor. I do wish that the gratuitous language would be deleted. In this instance, it wasn’t necessary to the storyline (is it ever?) and the vain use of the Lord’s name made it difficult for me to recommend it to others (can we truly put aside God’s own commandments for our own entertainment desires?). Beyond that, with a few minor deletions, I would watch this again and again. [3½/5]
Gene Fend, age 39
This movie was funnier than I expected. In fact, it was probably one of the funnier clean comedies I have ever seen. (Although “Toy Story 2” is even more entertaining). Tim Allen actually didn’t even carry the movie. Although he wasn’t bad, the other crew members along with the aliens provided most of the laughs. As far as sexual innuendo and cleavage—yeah, there was a little, but far less than you would usually find in a movie this funny. As far as language, I really don’t understand the people that count the number of times that certain words are used. Once again, there was much less profanity than you would expect in an adult comedy—and less than you would hear at work or school for that matter. [3½/3½]
Mike D, age 18
Very funny and the only problem I saw was that they showed a lot of cleavage on Sigourney Weaver. Other than that it was very clean. A good movie that you don’t have to feel uncomfortable watching. [3/4]
Christa K., age 24
A funnier than expected spoof on the Star Trek sci-fi culture, “Galaxy Quest” delivers far more entertainment value than many of its more highly anticipated holiday season competitors. By Hollywood standards “Galaxy Quest” is nearly an extremist, not to mention rare, example of a film that goes out of its way to avoid objectionable content, so much so that I am surprised at the number of objections raised by my fellow Christians on this page.
An unedited “Galaxy Quest” would seem tame even on prime-time network TV, and while many would argue that such a designation does not say so much of late, it certainly warrants praise given the current state of affairs among the other 95% of available movie options.
Yes, there is some cleavage and yes one character takes the Lord’s name in vain, and if you are a person who would stay away from this movie because of only two such particulars, then I am afraid you will find yourself avoiding secular entertainment altogether. [3½/3½]
An unedited “Galaxy Quest” would seem tame even on prime-time network TV, and while many would argue that such a designation does not say so much of late, it certainly warrants praise given the current state of affairs among the other 95% of available movie options.
Yes, there is some cleavage and yes one character takes the Lord’s name in vain, and if you are a person who would stay away from this movie because of only two such particulars, then I am afraid you will find yourself avoiding secular entertainment altogether. [3½/3½]
Thomas, age 24
This is a well written and funny movie and if I wasn’t a Christian, I would have loved it. There was more than one instance of cleavage… actually more than eight instances of cleavage. There is an instance where Tim Allen’s pants are off and the illusion of nudity is given. The lewd comments and sexual innuendos were also quite evident throughout. Without all this and the very loud G.D. exclamatory, this would’ve been a great movie. I got a good laugh… but the other inputs I got weren’t worth the laugh. [2½/4]
JR Lightstein, age 26
As a lifelong Trekkie who has attended many conventions, I found this movie highly entertaining. I was laughing out loud while the rest of the audience sat in silence. My non-Trekkie 12 year old niece gave it 2 and a half stars which I think is fair for those movie-goers who are not “in on the joke.” The subplot involving the un-cool devoted fans was nicely handled and very sweet. This movie is more true to Star Trek than anything those folks have done in years.
As a Christian, homeschooling mom, I worry about everything in movies, especially those that are intended to stimulate the hormones of adolescent boys. The over-exposure of Sigourney Weaver did annoy me a bit. Although the eff word is worst breach of language etiquette, I think that anything involving God’s name is far worse. I don’t want my son saying these things, but I don’t faint if he hears them. These are teaching moments. I really would like to see this film again. [3/3]
As a Christian, homeschooling mom, I worry about everything in movies, especially those that are intended to stimulate the hormones of adolescent boys. The over-exposure of Sigourney Weaver did annoy me a bit. Although the eff word is worst breach of language etiquette, I think that anything involving God’s name is far worse. I don’t want my son saying these things, but I don’t faint if he hears them. These are teaching moments. I really would like to see this film again. [3/3]
Renee Schiber, age 48
I’m a Tim Allen fan, so I had to see this. I think it’s a pretty good movie. It’s better than most of the other movies coming out in December. There’s not much in here that I found offensive. As a former Star Trek fanatic, I found it hilarious. [3/4]
Josh Johnson, age 19
“Galaxy Quest” had some good moments but there are some concerns a Christian parent might have including one very blatant use of the Lord’s name in vain (G.D.) and some very obvious exposure of pressed together cleavage of Sigourney Weaver. …Also the lead character gets drunk in the opening minutes. There were in my count about five “D” and “A” words used and one G.D. There is some strong violence, torture and a shooting death of an alien sympathetic to the audience. The pace drags at the first, but it picks up at the end. I wish Hollywood could get the message that they don’t have to put those things in there for a good movie.
Tim McK, age 37
Though it had some good laughs, I had trouble getting into this movie. My expectations going in were fairly high due to the reviews I had heard, so I was expecting a great movie. It didn’t strike any emotional chords or make any great strides in technical or artistic achievement. It was overacted (as it was intended) which makes it difficult to relate to the characters. Absolutely no time is spent on “creating” the characters so the viewer could connect and understand them. There will be many that will love this type of movie. I just found it a bit thin for my liking. There was objectionable language. [3/3½]
Paul Hunter, age 34
“Galaxy Quest” was a very pleasant surprise for my family. It was very funny and well made with a good plot (a rarity this year) and contained little objectionable words.
Louis
The only thing the movie left out was the fuzzy, glowing lighting that the old Star Trek used on the women whenever they had a close-up! It’s a fun romp, so enjoy. But it’s nice to be aware of the potential trouble spots. Thanks for your Web site! My Ratings: [3½/3½]