Day 5: “Morons from Outer Space”: And Now For Something Completely Different…

Film 5: “Morons from Outer Space” (1985)
Written by Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones (“Alas, Smith and Jones,” Brit TV)
Directed by Mike Hodges (“Croupier” and 1971’s “Get Carter”)

Problem: Well, you see, there’s these people in a spaceship – not very bright people – a bit intelligence-challenged – in fact, morons. Four of them. One (Mel Smith) goes outside to play Spaceball in his spacewalk suit instead of fixing the broken navigational system…and BOOM! His mates (Joanne Pearce, Jimmy Nail and Paul Bown) lean on the gas, and leave him flat.

Solution: Hitch a ride of course. So it doesn’t work out very well, and you end up dumped on the nearest rotating rock? And you realize that while you’re viewed as a lunatic, your moronic mates have become rock stars on Earth…okay, solutions seem slim on the ground.

Result: What do ya think I think? Totally awesome! As in TOTALLY. Completely saturated in 1980s culture – London punks, Cold War paranoia and the best spoof of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ I’ve ever seen – this movie will probably be loved most by those of us who lived through the era. Mel Smith, best known to most Yanks as the Albino in “Princess Bride,” has made quite a tidy living with co-writer Griff Rhys-Jones in surreal comedy, continuing the fine Monty Python tradition. Plenty of it is here in embryonic form, with a very filming-in-the-garage feel, reminiscent of “Real Genius” and “Top Secret!” A lovely treat for anyone who’s ever chuckled at “Spaceballs,” loved “E.T.” or truly enjoyed “Star Trek.” (Me? So guilty...on all counts.)