| Galaxy Quest | 
 enlarge | Actors: Patrick Breen, Jeffrey Howard, Kevin Mcdonald, Alan Rickman, Sam Rockwell
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.99
Buy Used: $2.67
You Save: $10.32 (79%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  482 reviews
Sales Rank: 2681
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 102
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: MCAD86017D
ISBN: 0783242743
UPC: 667068601725
EAN: 9780783242743
ASIN: B00003CXDV
Theatrical Release Date: 1999
Release Date: May 2, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Order with confidence - Every single package is shipped with insurance, and domestic packages have Delivery Confirmation. We will email you a confirmation with tracking information before we ship. Many individual CD's and DVD's get upgraded to first class mail to get to you quickly.
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Amazon.com essential video
You don't have to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy Galaxy Quest, but it certainly helps. A knowingly affectionate tribute to Trek and any other science fiction TV series of the 1960s and beyond, this crowd-pleasing comedy offers in-jokes at warp speed, hitting the bull's-eye for anyone who knows that (1) the starship captain always removes his shirt to display his manly physique; (2) any crew member not in the regular cast is dead meat; and (3) the heroes always stop the doomsday clock with one second to spare. So it is with Commander Taggart (Tim Allen) and the stalwart crew of the NSEA Protector, whose intergalactic exploits on TV have now been reduced to a dreary cycle of fan conventions and promotional appearances. That's when the Thermians arrive, begging to be saved from Sarris, the reptilian villain who threatens to destroy their home planet. Can actors rise to the challenge and play their roles for real? The Thermians are counting on it, having studied the "historical documents" of the Galaxy Quest TV show, and their hero worship (not to mention their taste for Monte Cristo sandwiches) is ultimately proven worthy, with the help of some Galaxy geeks on planet Earth. And while Galaxy Quest serves up great special effects and impressive Stan Winston creatures, director Dean Parisot (Home Fries) is never condescending, lending warm acceptance to this gentle send-up of sci-fi TV and the phenomenon of fandom. Best of all is the splendid cast, including Sigourney Weaver as buxom blonde Gwen DeMarco; Alan Rickman as frustrated thespian Alexander Dane; Tony Shalhoub as dimwit Fred Kwan; Daryl Mitchell as former child-star Tommy Webber; and Enrico Colantoni as Thermian leader Mathesar, whose sing-song voice is a comedic coup de grace. --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
For four years the courageous crews of the nsea protector set off on thrilling and oftern dangerous missions in space and then their series was canceled. Now twenty years later aliens in jeopardy have mistaken the galaxy quest television transmission for historical documents and beamed up the crew of has beens. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 12/26/2005 Starring: Tim Allen Alan Rickman Run time: 103 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Dean Parisot
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| Customer Reviews: Read 477 more reviews...
 A Perfect(ly) Dysfunctional Star Trek October 23, 2008
I know - you've already seen a dozen other reviews that say Galaxy Quest is a wonderful send-up of the original Star Trek TV Series. As someone who is a HUGE Star Trek fan, I can assure you, it is, and very well done.
What really makes this movie work is not that it's a Star Trek parody. The magic is in the thoughtful and well written examination of the world of those trapped in roles from a show long dead: hating what they've become, but where the only way to survive is off the microscopic income they get from conventions, "special appearances" and such that come their way due to their fame as a character from the show "Galaxy Quest". The movie quickly makes it clear that our characters are in this situation and hate it: they hate the show, hate themselves, and hate each other.
Well, at least on the surface they hate each other: they've been together for decades, and so have long standing grudges, know every one of each other's warts and quirks, and know what buttons to push to end an argument (or start one). It's like a dysfunctional family: they can't stand each other, but know that they're all in it together. To put it another way, and as is emphasized by a statement from the character "Malthesar" early in the film, the TV show portrayed a crew that worked together in perfect harmony, trust and respect of each other. Yet, the actors behind those roles are living a life far from the ideals they once portrayed.
The leader of the crew is Tim Allen, who's character, Jason Nesmith plays a very self-centered and Shatneresque "Commander Peter Quincy Taggart" of the Starship "Galaxy Quest." He alone of the show's cast enjoys living in the past, and is center stage in every guest appearance. He loves the attention and glory it seems to bring, but is not above stealing some of that glory from his fellow cast members. Yet, even he, early in the film, is inescapably confronted with the fact that he's also a washed up has been.
Salvation comes in the form of REAL (!) aliens (apparently) disguised as Galaxy Quest groupies who track down "Commander Taggert" at a convention to ask for his help. These Thermians have no idea that the broadcasts of "historical documents" about the crew of the Starship Galaxy Quest that they've been watching are, in fact, ficton. The concept of fiction (and deceit) is totally foreign to them.
An equally clueless and hung-over Jason (Allen) goes along for a ride with the Thermians, thinking he'll be visiting yet another cardboard recreation of the ship's set, but finds out that what he thought was just another bunch of fans to be treated with contempt, are in fact the real thing.
Back on earth, he invites his castmates along to see. They (of course) think he's finally cracked, but needing the money, they follow along; and the fun begins.
I'm always looking for movies where there's growth in the characters and a lesson to be learned. Slapstick humor without purpose is, to me, not worth the effort it takes to watch. There needs to be growth, there needs to be some reason the characters are going through the situation we are seeing them in.
Fortunately, Galaxy Quest does not disappoint on this score: you see our characters come to the realization that all this is real. They try to "act" their way through the crisis that their desperate Thermian Hosts recruited them to solve, and quickly find that acting doesn't work in real life. This is played all the way through with just the right mix of the ridiculous combined with the sublime.
Once all seems lost, we see the Galaxy Quest actors pull together, learn from their mistakes, overcome their fears and insecurities, and really act like a team (just as their TV alter egoes always did); and (of course) save the day.
The cast for this movie is seasoned and impressive, and do a superb job. In addition to Tim Allen who does a great send-up of William Shatner, we have Sigourney Weaver ("Ghost Busters") as Gwen Demarco playing the the absolute antihesis of her "Ripley" character in Aliens. Alan Rickman ("Snape" in "Harry Potter") does an excellent job as a Shakespearean actor resentfully playing the alien Dr. Lazarus. Tony Shalhoub (from the TV series "Monk") is phenomonal as the ultra laid back engineer "Fred Kwan", and Daryl Mitchell does an excellent job portraying a now grown up former child star "Tommy Mitchell".
Two (at the time) newcomers in the cast were Justin Long as a teenage and nerdy Galaxy Quest groupie - later to become well known for his role as "Mac" in the Apple "Macintosh" ads. Finally, and stealing nearly every scene he's in is Sam Rockwell as a slightly neurotic wannabe actor "Guy Fleegman".
This film didn't win any major industry awards, but, like most Tim Allen films are, combines comedy with a moral lesson: It does it well, and hits its intended target dead on. For that reason, I give it five stars.
 Bad Language? September 10, 2008
The film is great, but I wondered about the lack of usual Hollywood bad language found even in PG-rated films. Looking closer at the actors talking, I could see numerous occasions upon which the visual shows one thing, the audio says another. For example, in one scene, Weaver's character says, "Screw that!" although reading her lips, she obviously was saying "F**k that!". What gives? Great movie, but since when did it become a PBS production?
Actually a pretty good lesson September 4, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I have also watched this fun movie several times (all without my sweetheart who hates the idea of sci-fi) and I liked it because it teaches one of my favorite theories. It is impossible to pretend to be something for very long without in some way becoming that thing. The key is what do you pretend to be? Hopefully it is something more noble than what you may have been. I don't mean that it is good to be hypocritical, just that by stiving to be the man you would like to be is better than settling for the man you are. Maybe that is way too deep for this fun spoof of the Star Trecified shows.
So here's the deal, this is a funny if a bit silly spoof that just might give you something to think about if you are in the mood.
Galaxy Quest August 31, 2008
Just a rousing good time for those of us who are star trek/science fiction fans. The premise is fun and the cast is perfect. We have watched this movie repeatedly and quote lines from it all the time. It always makes us chuckle. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Quest No More August 15, 2008
Schtinky "Schtinky" having explained the plot very well I will only add I just watched my copy the other night again for probably the fifth time, and expect I'll watch it a bunch more times. I think being a fan of Star Trek or not isn't really too important as basically "Galaxy Quest" is about a cast of actors who share a history (having worked together in a discontinued long-running television series), have been resting on their laurels and finding it tedious and one another irritating, and are hoping for another t.v. gig. When they find themselves zapped into their old show, but for real and facing honest-to-goodness aliens, their ensemble acting skills kick in. Many important life lessons, sweet and bittersweet, are shared using uproarous humor and sensitivity. The acting is outstanding all around -- everyone shines. I can't recommend it enough!
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