I suppose the whole Star Trek phenomenon is a ripe target for parody, so it might have been easy for a satire like Galaxy Quest to be full of cheap shots. While technically the film is not supposed to be a straight satire on Trek, Star Wars or the legions of sci-fi shows past and present that clog the airwaves, it is not too hard to see the parallels between the aging sci-fi stars of all those fictional shows and the washed-up cast of Galaxy Quest.

When we first meet the crew of this fictional show-within-a-show, they are making the usual convention rounds and dutifully donning their costumes for their legion of rabid (some would say obsessive) fans. At best the show has been their meal ticket, at worst a humiliating job that does little more for their careers than pay the rent. For the first third or so, Galaxy Quest pokes gentle fun at cheesy TV sci-fi and gets the tone and syntax down perfectly. The tacky sets, formfitting costumes, cheap-but-glossy special effects and ridiculous dialogue ("The power generators must be neutralized, Captain!") are pitch perfect, and it wouldn't surprise me if real Galaxy Quest fan clubs start to sprout up on the web very soon!

But then the film does something very clever that elevates it above just a simple parody. A real alien race, the Thermians, needs help saving their planet, but there only understanding of Earth has come from watching old reruns of Galaxy Quest. So they beam up the cast to save their world, and what before was at first a funny but potentially one-note joke becomes a more inspired comedy-adventure that works on multiple levels. Standing on sets spouting inane dialogue is one thing, but having to save a planet using the same technology is something else!

The actors all have a tremendous amount of fun with this, and Tim Allen, an actor who usually inspires in me the same feeling as nails on a chalkboard, is witty and well-cast as the Kirk-like Captain. Sigourney Weaver seems to be having a hoot, and manages to affectionately satirize a once-glamorous starlet while also slyly sending up her years of playing the put-upon Ripley in the Alien series. But it just might be Alan Rickman who has the most inspired character, a once-respected Shakespearean actor who now understandably resents the fact that he has to wear latex on his head and spout pseudo-intellectual technobabble. Rickman, like all of the cast, chews the scenery but never falls into a mean-spirited caricature, instead finding and honoring the character's humanity and heart. Certainly one of the biggest charms of Galaxy Quest is the fun everyone involved obviously had making the film, and it shows

But what impressed me the most about the film is that the journey the characters take is the same one we as an audience do. At first the actors resent the show that made them famous, but by the time they return to Earth victorious, they have learned to respect and become grateful for the happiness and joy the show has given their fans, the Thermians and now themselves. Thankfully, the film is not the cruel roast many Trek-haters may have wanted, instead being a gentle ribbing that is ultimately sweet and human.