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The Spaceballs send Dark Helmet and his goons to force Roland to lower the shield by kidnapping Vespa - which they do - but Roland’s distress signal is received just in time by none other than Lone Starr (Bill Pullman), the galaxy’s most notoriously roguish pilot, and his oafish sidekick Barf (John Candy). Behind the wheel of their mighty space Winnebago, Barf and Starr (sorry Packers fans) dive right into the rescue, hoping to earn enough money to pay off Starr’s considerable debt. And by the way, not only does John Candy steal most of the scenes he’s in, but his character is memorably half man/half dog. “I’m my own own best friend,” he says, and his cheerful, absent-minded demeanor almost single handedly provides Spaceballs with its joyful essence.

But all is not perfect. I have no problem declaring Spaceballs to be one of the top Star Wars parodies of all time, and I suppose you can only be so critical about a film whose analog for Yoda is Mel Brooks on his knees in gold face paint, calling himself “Yogurt.” But as I’ve said many times, even stupid movies are required to maintain audience interest - and that means putting at least minimal effort into crafting a coherent story. And that’s where I feel a little off about Spaceballs. The story is actually no less coherent than any of the Star Wars films, but when it comes time to advance the plot, it’s as though Brooks decided to give himself a pass. The assumption seems to be that since we’re shooting at such an easy target, why bother to aim?

For example, one of the more memorable gags occurs early in the film, when Lone Starr and Barf initially manage to rescue Vespa and escape Dark Helmet’s clutches. Helmet and his minions simply purchase a copy of Spaceballs on VHS, fast forward to the point in the movie where the Winnebago next appears, and set an intercept course. Now this is funny - I like it, and I suspect it may be a veiled jab at The Empire Strikes Back, whose plot timeline infamously makes no goddamned sense. The problem is that Spaceballs relies on this kind of contrivance a little too often, kind of like a videogame that just unlocks the damn door for you when you prove too inept to figure out the combination.

Yes, I know that seems like a pointless criticism to have against a movie with so many dick jokes in it. But while Spaceballs is undeniably hilarious, when held up against Brooks’ best work, there is really no comparison. The Producers was transcendent. Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein were visionary. Spaceballs is merely adequate, and whenever I feel like a good film leaves great things on the table, it bothers me a little bit. Spaceballs is a very good time, but the tone vacillates a little too frequently between “inspired laugh riot” and “indifferently produced variety show.” Bill Pullman might be doing a Groucho Marx impression most of the time he’s on screen. To some extent, these are Mel Brooks trademarks, but a lot of Spaceballs feels phoned in, from a script perspective

I just think that if I were going to parody Star Wars 10 years after the fact, I might have set my sights a little higher.

Still, it that’s the most I can complain about Spaceballs, you won’t mind if I label it a success? The story, or what there is of it, really is more substantial than almost any of the actual Star Wars films, and the characters are probably a little more interesting, to tell you the truth. I’d love to know more about why Dark Helmet needs to wear a tie, and why all his punishments are testicle based. An entire spin off franchise could be made about Barf and Lone Starr and I would consume it ravenously. I would pay real money to hear Yogurt give a Ted Talk. I guess more than anything, Spaceballs is simply a joyful film, and everyone appears to have had a joyful time making it. Despite a handful of flaws, this is just a fun, stupid movie that doesn’t require a lot of effort to enjoy. Even if you DO need more out of your comedy than that, it’s really not a bad deal.

And if I have to hear a bedtime story tonight, and this is the one Crazy Uncle Mel wants to tell me, I’m totally down with it.

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