MOVIE · 1987

Spaceballs

ActionAdventureComedySci-Fi96 min

When the leaders of Planet Spaceball scheme to steal the air from neighboring Druidia, drifter-for-hire Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his half-man, half-dog sidekick Barf are pulled into a rescue mission involving Princess Vespa and the looming threat of Dark Helmet. Rick Moranis’s Helmet is a petty would-be galactic tyrant, all oversized headgear and wounded ego, as the chase leads from desert planets to warped-speed escapes and a lesson in “The Schwartz.” Mel Brooks turns the whole setup into a broad spoof of Star Wars and other sci-fi touchstones, with sight gags, absurd tech, and jokes about power, merchandising, and space-opera heroics.