I would definitely list myself as an Alan Rickman fan. I’ve seen most of his major roles like Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Sheriff of Knottingham in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Metatron in Dogma, and Professor Severus Snape in all 8 Harry Potter movies. However, I’ve missed his role as Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest, and since I decided I was in need of a comedy it made its way, via Netflix, onto my PS4 this evening.
Galaxy Quest, which has a 7.3 out of 10 stars on IMDb and 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, features the cast of a Star Trek like show called Galaxy Quest running the con circuit, living off the fruits of their labor approximately 18 years after the show went off the air. The group is barely civil to one another, especially towards Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), but when a group of aliens called Thermians, who have based much of their world on the “Historical documents” of past Galaxy Quest episodes, seeks the aid of the crew from the show their whole world… nay, universe changes. The film features sci-fi queen Sigourney Weaver as Gwen DeMarco, Alan Rickman as the aforementioned Alexander Dane, Tony Shalhoub as Fred Kwan, Daryl Mitchell as Tommy Webber, and Sam Rockwell as Guy Fleegman as well as many other actors, like a young Justin Long.
When this film came out I was a senior in high school, and it just didn’t appeal to me at the time. Tim Allen had worn-out his welcome after I saw For Richer or Poorer and Jungle 2 Jungle. I assumed it would be bad and at the time assumed the plot of the washed up cast trying to recapture their glory days was an ironic take on reality. Luckily, time has given me much wisdom and I went in with a new appreciation for the rest of the cast. Tim Allen’s performance is solid, but Alan Rickman and Sam Rockwell stole the show for me. Rickman playing the far too qualified actor playing second fiddle to Allen was an ironic joke, but his performance is sincere and the quality I’ve come to expect from Rickman. Sam Rockwell playing the “red shirt” type character offers lots of comedic relief, which is later offered as a meta-joke by Tony Shalhoub.
The scene that stands out in my mind was when they venture to an alien planet to retrieve a core for the space ship. On the way to the planet Rockwell begins having a panic attack realizing he is likely to die. He points out that no one knows his last name because he isn’t important enough to have one. Rockwell acting as the fan who realizes nothing is going to go as it seems based on his experience watching the show and his disbelief at the rest of the crew’s lack of knowledge. The crew shrugs him off, but eventually his claims prove to be true. The aliens on the planet attack and try to kill them all, and Rockwell brings a bit of comedy to it.
I’m really glad I’ve finally added this film to my watched list. By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Worvan, the film made me laugh heartily. In my quest to watch 366 movies this year I shall never give up; never surrender. I give Galaxy Quest 7 out of 10 historical documents.
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