Galaxy Quest
Rating: ***

Rated PG for action violence, mild language and sensuality. Running time: 102 minutes. Recommended for ages 7 and up.

In the universe of the movie, Galaxy Quest was a campy early 1980s TV show whose stars (including Tim Allen as the Commander) make their late 1990s livings appearing at fan conventions, store openings, etc. A world of outer-space aliens has viewed these episodes, understood them as “historical documents” and modeled their actual world on the fantasy world of the TV show.

Of course, when these aliens get into real trouble, they think they need the crew of Galaxy Quest to get them out of it. The aliens show up at a fan convention (where they blend in very well) to request the help of the actors. The TV show crew gets sucked into the aliens’ conflict, where they are expected to do in real life what they acted out on TV. Though the movie isn't as entertaining as it could be (the comic timing of the script isn’t quite right), parents will appreciate the TV-show humor (watch for the Gilligan’s Island reference) and kids will like the comic adventure.

Reviewed by Ed Joras


©2003 The pocketparent.com. All rights reserved.