GALAXY QUEST

CAPSULE REVIEW –– This may not be the funniest movie ever made, but it gets the job done, which is more than one can say about most comedies these days. It takes a premise that could've been terribly hokey and stupid and turns it into a hilarious sci-fi adventure. I was a little worried when I heard Tim Allen would be the lead, but he is wonderful as the washed-up, arrogant TV captain who is forced to reconnect with his own humanity by actually saving the universe. Of course, the rest of his crew – played splendidly by Weaver (in a great comic twist on her ALIEN persona), Rickman, Shalhoub and Mitchell – think he's finally gone off the deep end until they are beamed aboard "their spaceship" and forced to function as their TV characters in the real world. Everyone steps up to the plate because, well, death is on the line, finally being able to make the difference they so desperately sought on Earth. They run into the requisite sci-fi troubles, which given the fact that they're actors plodding along without a script, gives these scenes a fresh twist. What really elevates this from being B-movie trash, besides the cast and ingenious story idea, are the special effects. Clearly, a lot of thought and money went into the look and feel of the sets and characters and it makes a big difference. Not just for the sci-fi geeks, this is a comedy for everyone.