Spaceballs

Spaceballs (1987) Mel Brooks

Before we had Scary Movie and Not Another Teen Movie, there was Spaceballs. A parody of many popular films, Spaceballs never fails to take it to the next level. The plot of the movie circles around President Skroob’s plan to steal the air from Druidia. His plan consists of kidnapping Princess Vespa in a ploy to convince the King to give him the combination to the airshield. When Princess Vespa refuses to marry Prince Valium, she drives on off to outer space in her Mercedes with maid of honor, Dot Matrix, in tow. Dark Helmet spots her and the spaceballs go forth with their plan to try and kidnap her. Thankfully, Lone Starr and his sidekick Barf, are there to save the day and rescue the princess in the nick of time. Sadly, the spaceballs manage to kidnap her and then it’s up to Lone Starr to get her back. With the help of Yougurt, Lone Starr learns to use “The Schwartz” which in the end, helps him defeat Dark Helmet. The movie is a satire and spoofs many movies such as Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Transformers, and the Princess Bride to name a few.[1] The movie also has a recurring theme of Jewish stereotypes and jokes such as: “the Schwartz,” Dr. Schlotkin, Princess Vespa’s nosejob, “A Druish Princess,” “Funny, she doesn’t look Druish,” “Druish princesses are often attracted to money and power, and I have both,” “Well it sure ain’t Temple Beth Israel,” to name a few. The movie also has many sexual references: “I bet she gives great helmet.” “Ohhhh, your helmet is so big!” “Oh, my God. It's Mega Maid. She's gone from suck to blow.” “You have the ring, and I see your Schwartz is as big as mine. Let's see how well you handle it.” “Say goodbye to your two best friends, and I'm not talking about the ones in the Winnebago!” “Shit! I hate it when I get my Schwartz twisted.” These are just a few of the sexual references. Spaceballs stands the test of time because of it’s offensive humor. Most comedians today use the same kind of offensive humor that Spaceballs started with. Just a few who come to mind include Dave Chapelle, Carlos Mencia, Dane Cook, Chris Rock, Steven Colbert, John Stewart. I don’t think Spaceballs is a distinctly 80s film because I think it breaks a lot of boundaries that most 80s movies don’t. It’s raunchy, offensive and extremely controversial. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is not easily offended and wanted a good laugh. If you enjoy South Park, Family Guy, Superbad, Anchorman and Scary Movie, you will enjoy Spaceballs.
[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094012/movieconnections