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I'm surprised that Mel Brook's Spaceballs seems generally disliked.

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Somax

Member
Not in my experience, both on the websites and forums I use and in real life.
It's generally well liked, some of my acquaintances know it by heart.
 

entremet

Member
Spaceballs came out too late (4 years after Jedi), but it was at least a cult classic. Professional critics are a tiny sample size

But the Star Wars Holiday Special was indeed funnier ;-)

Yeah. Even meteoritic which has a 46 rating, only has 13 professional reviews.

This was pre-internet, so less national professional critics.
 

teiresias

Member
I'm not much of a fan of Mel Brooks' stuff, but even for his material I always found Spaceballs a bit more on-the-nose than usual for his stuff. I don't know if I'd call it a horrible movie in the Mel Brooks style though.
 
Spaceballs is probably one of the best parodies ever made. Rick Moranis is hilarious in that movie.

Can't be said enough. Bill Pullman is terrible, but the movie is completely saved by Moranis. I can't imagine it would be nearly as watchable without him.

well...him and this guy

latest


..or else PIZZA'S gonna send out...for YOU

I think that Mel Brooks kinda needs Gene Wilder. They're like a band, and if you take either one of them away, you're missing the soul of the thing.

What's insane is that they're both still alive, they could still make something together.

what would you even cast wilder as in this movie? Nothing is really appropriate for him.
 

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
I love Spaceballs but it's not as good as History of the World, Robin Hood, or Young Frankenstein. It for damn sure isn't as good as the GOAT Blazing Saddles.

Top 5 Mel Brooks is still among the best comedies ever though.
 
I know I generally dislike it (it's a pretty lazy Brooks comedy, and was the first real sign of his decline as a filmmaker) but I also know I'm generally looked at as a snobby piece of shit for sharing said opinion, so I wouldn't agree that people generally dislike the film.
 

entremet

Member
Yea who the fuck have you heard dislike it OP? I have never met a person who hated it.

I was having a conversation about it today with friends. Many mentioned it didn't age well humor wise.

I thought the thoughts on this movie was generally adored without any criticism, so I went online and checked the aggregators and was surprised at the reviews.

I was surprised at any tepid reactions since I thought it was just one of those GOAT comedies that everyone liked. I made the thread just to get feedback, so it seems like my initial hunch was correct.
 

Spinifex

Member
I thought it was just 'ok' as a comedy movie, probably the worst Mel Brooks movie. Some jokes just fall incredibly flat and the humour that did work has not aged well at all.
 

dhonk

Member
Gonna have to agree, don't know a single person that doesn't like it. Except some weirdos in this thread.
 

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
It has some good jokes, but it's not that great, honestly. A lot of the jokes fall flat. At least for me.

A lot of it just feels corny.

It's nowhere near as good as Blazing Saddles or Airplane.
 

Fury451

Banned
It's kind of a lazy satire (as was Men in Tights) compared to some of his other work. Not my thing but it has humorous bits.

Never seen a trend of it being disliked. Quite the opposite in fact, it's fans can be insufferable with the references.
 

Coolluck

Member
I feel like it's one of those movies that I'm supposed to like but I just don't. The jokes don't land and it is relatively boring.
 

Nekofrog

Banned
It has some really great gags, but it also has a LOT of downtime where the jokes were out of date even at the time the movie came out.
 

Ridley327

Member
I know I generally dislike it (it's a pretty lazy Brooks comedy, and was the first real sign of his decline as a filmmaker) but I also know I'm generally looked at as a snobby piece of shit for sharing said opinion, so I wouldn't agree that people generally dislike the film.

That's where I'm at. It's definitely funny at times, but Brooks used to be put so much care into his films and nail all the small details of how they look and feel. Spaceballs really doesn't have any of that, and he never really got back in the saddle again.
 

Platy

Member
I only meet people complaining about this movie when I joked used as an answer of "I want to rewatch the old star wars before the new one, which order do you recomend ?"
 

jstripes

Banned
I think it's a good film, but the humor is outdated. Might be why it's getting low ratings today.

I think it's funny as hell, but it's not the kind of humor people look for now.

I remember liking it ages ago, but I saw it again a few years back, and found most of the humour groan-inducing. I'm not 12 anymore.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about what film critic's think, most of them wouldn't know a good film when they see one.

Spaceballs is a comedy classic.
 

Kyzon

Member
Plaid

Man, I love this movie! Mel Brooks is a comedic genius.

I'm not sure which one I enjoy more though. Spaceballs, or Blazing Saddles
 

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
More I think about it, never heard the words "I hate Spaceballs".

On several occasions I've heard stuff like "I hate Mel Brooks movies" or "Mel Brooks isn't funny".

So it'd be weird to pick Spaceballs out specifically.
 

ibyea

Banned
I remember when I tried watching the movie due to some funny scenes I have watched before. And when I did, I was so freaking disappointed because that was one of the very few things funny about the movie. A vast majority of the jokes just fall flat.
 

Cat Party

Member
I remember when I tried watching the movie due to some funny scenes I have watched before. And when I did, I was so freaking disappointed because that was one of the very few things funny about the movie. A vast majority of the jokes just fall flat.

It's ibyea...he's gone from suck to blow!
 

burgervan

Member
I tried rewatching it a few years ago and it was a tough sit. It really doesn't hold up.

Naked Gun on the other hand...
 
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