Imbibe Cinema
A laudatory dialogue led by co-hosts Jonathan C. Legat and Tricia Legat, and joined by producer Michael Noens, as they share their admiration for a wide variety of films. Listeners are encouraged to watch the subject of discussion, grab yourself a delicious libation, and imbibe some great cinema.
This podcast is presented by Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, a not-for-profit arts organization that assembles character-driven independent film programming constructed by bold and innovative storytellers for the purposes of education, entertainment, and thought-provoking discussion.
Imbibe Cinema
Galaxy Quest
"Galaxy Quest" stands as a masterful example of how comedy can transcend mere parody to become something genuinely heartfelt and meaningful. What begins as a clever parody of Star Trek and sci-fi fandom evolves into a love letter to the franchise that celebrates the profound impact fictional stories can have on real lives.
Our conversation delves into the perfect casting choices that brought these characters to life. Tim Allen captures the Shatner-esque swagger of Commander Taggart, while Alan Rickman delivers a masterclass in deadpan brilliance as the classically-trained actor trapped in an alien role. Sigourney Weaver brilliantly subverts expectations as the token female character who's tired of repeating what the computer already said, and Sam Rockwell steals scenes as the paranoid extra convinced he's destined to die. Their chemistry and commitment elevate what could have been simple caricatures into fully realized characters.
Remember to imbibe responsibly! If you haven't seen "Galaxy Quest," watch the film before you listen to the episode.
Ready to explore more cinematic gems paired with perfect cocktails? Subscribe to the Imbibe Cinema podcast and join us as we celebrate the films that move us, make us laugh, and remind us why storytelling matters.
Looking for more episode content? Read the Episode Recap, including links to episode references and the ingredients for this episode's featured cocktail – now available on our website under Reviews & Articles.
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I think in your next take you should be like I grabbed Thor's hammer. You shall be drunk.
Speaker 2:Not only direction, but a line reading yeah.
Speaker 1:Also, it's not a Thor.
Speaker 4:You shall be drunk off your ass before the podcast begins Channel your inner Alan Rickman.
Speaker 3:Hello Alan. This is Alan.
Speaker 4:Greetings and salutations, and welcome to the Imbibe Cinema Podcast. The Imbibe Cinema Podcast is brought to you by the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, otherwise known as BWIF. I'm Jonathan C Leggett, along with my co-host, trisha Leggett, and our producer.
Speaker 2:Michael Nowens.
Speaker 4:In this episode we're going to be discussing the 1999 classic Galaxy Quest. The cocktail that we are imbibing is called Graptar's Hammer. By Graptar's Hammer, you shall be drunk. It has rye, whiskey, benedictine, some sweet vermouth, as well as orange bitters. It is quite tasty. You're supposed to set an orange on fire, but we did not have an orange?
Speaker 2:Trisha decided to buy clementines which apparently are not as flammable. Well, it's still delicious. Yes, I will say that.
Speaker 1:I would, if we had one thing to change about it. I would have liked for us to have Blue food coloring. Yes, if we had one thing to change about it.
Speaker 4:I would have liked for us to have blue food color. Yes, because all of the aliens are either blue, have blue blood.
Speaker 1:Or they drink blue liquids.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's so funny Because I was thinking you were basically giving notes and I was like, oh, will they be in blue? And then they were oh see they were.
Speaker 4:We also have these notes in blue. The recipe, as well as pictures, are available on our website, imbibecinemacom. In addition to this podcast, we also offer a variety of shorts and feature length independent films that you can enjoy for free, but when you become an Imbibe Cinema member, you get access to monthly limited releases. To learn more and begin your membership, visit imbibecinemacom or download the Imbibe Cinema mobile app, available on the App Store as well as Google Play. So, um, one of the first things that we thought about diving into when it comes to this particular topic is the homage to Star Trek, the fandom, the, you know, quasi joke about the fans. In fact, I fandom the quasi-joke about the fans. In fact, I specifically remember the writer and director discussing the fact that they were in a convention hall at the urinals and had three Klingons making fun of something at the convention, and that apparently spurned most of the jokes or ideas of the remainder.
Speaker 1:For the actual convention. Yeah, there were a lot of anticipated, I guess, disappointment or I'm forgetting all words now it's a good drink, no there are a lot of people.
Speaker 3:She's had three sips.
Speaker 1:Everybody within the community the community, the Star Trek community, talking about fandom, as well as those whose careers pretty much were attached to the legacy of Star Trek right, and all that entails, and the critics as well. They thought they were probably too on the nose, that going in people were thinking this was going to be too much like of a joke and a lot of them were expecting not to like the film at all. And and then you hear afterwards like patrick stewart was all like no, no, no. And then, oh, actually I really did enjoy it. I was surprised like a lot of star trek, uh Trek actors and directors and stuff were like oh no, I really get it, it was really good and the critics loved it.
Speaker 1:And then the people didn't go to see it. In fact, the people who did go to see it were like a lot of them were trying to get into another movie and I can't remember what movie that was, but it was a big hit. They were trying to get in that movie and they couldn't. So they went to see Galaxy Quest and they were like I really liked it. In fact, the creators said the compliment they get the most at the time was I didn't want to see it, I didn't think I'd like it. It was really good.
Speaker 4:It is definitely one of those films that has invariably become a cult classic, one that its followers are very avid about, and I do feel that even Rotten Tomato kind of shows it. You know, this is a film that is widely loved. It was not. It did not hit the box office that it should have. It's a hard film to sell.
Speaker 2:Well, and to what both of you are saying in combination. Actually the marketing really like re-watching the trailer. I feel like it was making fun of Star Trek and Star Trek fans. That's how it feels. I kind of equate it to the three films that Simon Pegg was part of oh Shaun of the Dead. Shaun of the dead sean of the dead, hot fuzz and world's end yes, yes and, but like using um sean of the dead as a good example.
Speaker 2:Uh, it is making fun of zombie films yes, well, at the same time being a really good zombie, and not just that and that's this as well.
Speaker 1:It is making fun of this as well.
Speaker 2:It is making fun of Star Trek fans.
Speaker 3:Yep, it is making fun of Star Trek.
Speaker 2:And it is also a really enjoyable and good Star Trek sci-fi fan film almost Like if you were to just be like oh, I want to make Star Trek, but I'm just going to change all of the characters' names so I don't get sued by the IP it's a really good Star Trek.
Speaker 1:It outdid Star Trek for a while.
Speaker 4:It was more Star Trek than Star Trek was that's fair, until Star Trek re-remembered what it was?
Speaker 1:Yeah, when it was rediscovering itself it wasn't Star Trek, so therefore Orville was.
Speaker 4:Big shout out Seth. We very much loved and wish Orville was still around.
Speaker 1:Yes, make more stuff, Seth. We miss you. I'm sure you're busy.
Speaker 2:Well, he just did, you know, he just at least produced the Naked Gun which.
Speaker 4:I haven't seen yet, but I've heard amazing things about it.
Speaker 1:I'm so glad the 90s is coming back, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, in the comments too, that people were making like they're hoping that you know, a whole new generation discovers Leslie Nielsen, and I think that's a really cool comment to say.
Speaker 1:Like you're saying, initially, this movie, just seeing the trailer or the concept of the movie, you think, okay, this is airplane to airport, the airport movies. Airplane made fun of that, right, but airplane changed a lot of things.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Right, it changed the genre.
Speaker 2:It thoroughly confused.
Speaker 4:Peter Graves yes, even during the premiere, especially during the premiere, when, yes, I don't understand, especially during the premiere, when his wife continued to laugh harder at his not understanding why this was funny.
Speaker 1:At one point he says I still don't understand why this is funny yeah.
Speaker 4:But again, and what that goes to is just the sheer fact that, like they play it serious, this is possibly one of the most heartbreaking films. These actors have unknowingly caused a genocide of an almost entire species.
Speaker 1:That's the layers to this. That is so cool when you think about it. It's so meta, it's like yeah, they don't understand how much influence they have on masses they do not see, and in this instance in the film it is like the whole species being wiped out. But it's also star trek.
Speaker 1:How much an influence it has on people you don't like yes they didn't realize how big a ripple they were making, how it changed. Like our dad said, you got to watch one TV show. When he was a kid he could pick one TV show and it was a choice between Bonanza and Star Trek. That was his thing, like he had to choose, and he chose Star Trek and then he became an engineer. So it makes you wonder he'd chosen Bonanza.
Speaker 4:He would have been a sheriff. This also hits a more interesting just note in present day, where it does seem a lot of people have unknowingly watched Star Trek and not been aware of it. Just the amount of backlash that Star Trek has been getting of being too woke, and you have to look at the people who are saying the words star trek is too woke and go. What star trek had you been watching previously?
Speaker 1:right, because wasn't that? It was groundbreaking. It was the first interracial kiss ever on television was star trek, and and what orville did as well. They take a lot of real controversial subjects in present day on their head and then put them in the future in space with other aliens, and then you can get some people can clearly see them from that outside some people apparently just watch it and don't internalize.
Speaker 2:And that was like Gene Roddenberry's goal the entire time was to mirror I don't know if mirror is the right word, but I'm going to use it mirror situations or issues that the general population of Earth were dealing with, grappling with and then bringing that into a science fiction world, correct?
Speaker 4:What the mirror is is you're trying to turn the mirror on the audience. You're trying to make the audience see themselves in the situation, even though, because it is distant, both from a distance as well as future or past or just intergalactic, they are able to see how they are either helping or hurting the situation that is being presented in front of them by turning that mirror on them and forcing them to look at themselves in it.
Speaker 2:And clearly not enough people see the mirror, and that's what this movie does, too Like quite literally.
Speaker 4:Right, yes.
Speaker 1:I love. There's something I had just. I'm sure it was a tiktok or something, but it was this guy talking about you're on tiktok what no, it just things how do you it was like, please it was tiktok light reels
Speaker 1:adjacent. Okay, so, as I was going to say, this video, which is an unknown source material that I'm referencing, is a gentleman talking about how he's wearing a Star Trek t-shirt and this woman comes up and says why Star Trek? And he lists off every other science fiction popular thing that we know, right, all the sci-fi stuff, and he goes this is the only one that ends well, this is the only future hope. This is hopeful. This says we're going to get past all that bullshit and we're going to be better and we're going to go out and we're going to explore and we're going to, we're going to grow and we're going to be good, and everything else has us blowing ourselves up right, yeah, that's true and the mass, the mass majority of futuristic sci-fi is dark
Speaker 4:and it's pretty damn dark yeah yeah, I mean now to to be fair. Star trek does take place after the third world war, where, uh, humanity is almost wiped out and it's only until Zephram Cochran, zephram Cochran, yes, ooh, look at me.
Speaker 4:Finds, I will look at you. I said that he finds warp technology and because he ends up warping around the planet while Just trying to screw around, it's what causes the Vulcans to come down to Earth, and that is what essentially first, contact being the thing that causes humanity to unite under a more you know. Hey, let's progress forward instead of fighting each other and being stupid and squabbling.
Speaker 1:Well, when you know you're not alone, when you know you're not alone and change his perspective In some ways, like in Independence Day, it can unite the world against a new foe.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, and in the real world, the only people that I've really consistently heard this from is like time after time, you hear astronauts from multiple different countries that spend a good deal of time in space on the International Space Station looking down at Earth, and they come back with a totally different perspective. I don't see any borders.
Speaker 3:I don't see countries.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you just see one fragile planet, and if only we could all. And a picture doesn't do it justice.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 2:If only we could all be up there and see that it would change us.
Speaker 1:I'm sure, as long as we're not up there with George Clooney.
Speaker 2:He was trying to save her.
Speaker 1:In the movie Gravity folks yes, was, he Didn't end. Gravity folks yes Was he Didn't end well for him. Anyways, Galaxy Quest. So they expected more of a airplane slapstick make fun of it, humor. But it was a love letter to Star Trek. It was there, was the heart was all there and that in part was because how seriously everybody took it in that film when making it, which is the second half, and I'm not going to continue to talk about that. Look at this drink.
Speaker 4:Who are you? And she says that while taking a drink, I'm even more devastatedly impressed.
Speaker 1:That's because I'm the most sober person at the table.
Speaker 4:You raise a valid point.
Speaker 1:That's not true. Agnes is, but she's sleeping.
Speaker 2:Pretty soundly too yeah.
Speaker 1:So when we're talking about Meta stuff, the fact that, like the actors have the have unintended consequences that go far beyond but also the aliens In the movie in general, so well done. They all have that childish wonder about them. They're all so excited, they're all scientists, they're all so smart and yet the they idolize tim ellen and and the crew and the historical documents, those poor people.
Speaker 4:You don't think that's gilligan's island.
Speaker 2:No, those poor people, those poor people.
Speaker 1:The way they talk, but no, that kind of the innocence. And then the fact that you have the point where Jason Nesbitt has to tell the leader of their people no, we pretended, we lied, and the devastation, the devastation, and it's this whole like, no, you understand, you inspire the innocence that you don't see to be more, and yeah. So maybe I read too much into the film, but I love it anyway.
Speaker 4:But the villain in that is so fantastic Robin Sachs was Ceres. It's so fantastic in just the sense that he is this villainous character. But he's hyper aware of things in the sense that he immediately understands that the historical documents are television shows and and he almost takes a sick amount of pleasure in making Tim Allen explain.
Speaker 2:Well, and what's even worse is it's like not only does he have to explain it once, but he has to explain it again. He tries to do it once and he's like no, no, no, no. Explain as if you were talking to a child.
Speaker 2:The thing I would say about this movie is it follows one of my favorite story. I don't know, convention is not the right word, but the way that especially a comedy works, when you're enjoying a story and it's so funny and you're like pulled into it and it's just hilarious, and then all of a sudden it's like you get slapped across the face and you're like, oh, this isn't funny anymore and I've called it like it's all fun and games until it isn't yes and it's one of my favorite things in a story because it it's the plot twist in a way to a to a comedy like this yeah, it is the sobering moment.
Speaker 4:There you go, you like, yes yeah, well done.
Speaker 2:I know I'm early an early cheers.
Speaker 4:I'm pretty proud of that one, but it's true because again you understand at the joke moment when he's like, oh, we have no home to go back to, and it's only when he's like, no, tell him what you are. That is the sobering moment for us as the audience member. And again, the lows make the highs. It only makes the movie funnier knowing that it has those moments that pull on your heartstrings and there are lots of nods and kind of jabs at the genre.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, you know, like our ship was made of cardboard. Yes, and, and and. Christmas lights christmas lights. Right, I was gonna say um and uh, and then sigourney weaver's uh, incredible lines. Like this episode was badly written yes, whoever wrote this episode should die I have one job on this ship. It's stupid, but I'm doing it yeah, women for the most part in sci-fi for a very long time we're just props right in fact she doesn't.
Speaker 2:Her job is to repeat the computer the computer says a line and then she repeats like it was like her interview article was this many paragraphs about how her boobs fit in her cuffs.
Speaker 1:Yes, which is so funny, because this is 1999 and we're making a joke about a tv show from the 80s. Yeah. And yet what was the biggest complaint from all the superhero movies? When the women are interviewed, how do you fit in those spandex?
Speaker 4:What diet are you on?
Speaker 1:And the guys aren't asked that, nope, yeah. And then there are these great references to things like guy. Oh man Crewman, number six.
Speaker 4:At first I thought it was the guy who was gonna be like die on the ship, and now I'm thinking I'm gonna be the guy that dies on the planet and and lovingly pointing out the sheer fact that one of the the the interesting juxtapositions of of the movie is you've got an entire race, that is, science officers that, uh, you know, have do not understand what television is, and then you have these children out on the on the uh, the planet that they encounter, who are cannibals the minors and uh eat each other.
Speaker 4:Uh, and you know, while you have adults in space who are children Minded, Juxtaposition Just the rolling help, the beautiful thing we're going to take a few minutes to fill our glasses and get ready to imbibe more after this.
Speaker 3:The Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival exhibits short and feature-length motion pictures that utilize story elements in a new and exciting way. Our official selections are a carefully assembled blend of imaginative, sophisticated and full-bodied stories. This is what our name represents BWIF audiences expect to experience character-driven, independent cinema that is fueled by the filmmakers' passion for the art of visual storytelling. Filmmakers can expect an intimate festival experience where their personal story is valued as much as the one projected on the big screen.
Speaker 4:I'm Jonathan C Leggett, and I'm here along with Trisha Leggett and Michael Knowens, and we are discussing Galaxy Quest briefly we waxed a lot of poetics we did something enjoying this podcast.
Speaker 4:Please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcast waxed a lot of poetics. We did something Enjoying this podcast. Please subscribe or follow us on your favorite podcast providers to get new episodes as soon as we release them. Rate and leave us a review to help the show reach a larger audience. And you can also follow us in Vibe Cinema on Facebook, instagram and the threads.
Speaker 1:This film, initially, was going to be directed by Harold Ramis.
Speaker 2:Wait what.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't know that. That would have been a different, and he was looking at Kevin Kline to play Jason Nesbitt. Wait was it Kevin Kline. I thought it was Baldwin. He was considering one or the other.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:I'd be interested to see the Harold Ramis version, but I don't think it could have been improved upon from what it?
Speaker 1:was Then also, alan Rickman took his role very seriously. There was a point where they thought he should be knighted. He should be Sir Alexander, whatever his name is, don or something, and he said, no, my character would never have been knighted. He was like, no, no, no, he's not that actor In the credits, though he's still credited as Sir Alexander. And then evidently on set, when they did the Grab Thar's hammer scene with Qua'lek, the young alien that idolizes his character.
Speaker 4:Yes, Patrick Breen.
Speaker 1:That delivery, that scene is just so powerful. And then the crew is crying.
Speaker 4:It's like we didn't expect this today, and yet I I I feel almost more sad for them for not expecting alan rickman to show up, like yeah right. I mean you want to talk about an actor who's going to deliver everything as if it is 110 percent. Alan rickman is that actor?
Speaker 1:And then there was going to be a sequel, years and years later. They were all going to get together and do the sequel, I guess like for fun, in the reunion kind of way. But they had the right script and the right moment and everybody was on board. And then Alan Rickman passed away. Tim Allen said we just couldn't do it without him.
Speaker 2:It wasn't right, it wouldn't work. No, I mean a slight parallel, but part of the reason why I feel like they shouldn't make a Calvin timeline of Star Trek 4 is because they don't have Chekov, chekov, yeah, mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:Just heartbreaking but back to Galaxy Quest.
Speaker 2:Yes. So when we talk about Galaxy Quest. You can't not talk about Star Trek, you can't, no, exactly.
Speaker 1:We have it on Blu-ray and we went to watch it and it had all these extras, and there are lots of movies we have that do not have near as many extras as this movie.
Speaker 4:That's fair, not have near as many extras, as this movie had.
Speaker 1:It actually had an audible thing, that was, it changed every single thing into the alien language.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I like went to the bathroom and I came back and everything was suddenly in the.
Speaker 1:Alien language. I think they're thermion.
Speaker 4:Yes, but he calls them termites.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 4:That's right. So it's the thermions. She changed all of the languages to Thermians and so everything was suddenly in Thermian and I could not Exactly. I could not undo it quickly enough for my brain to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he thought he was having a stroke. I did. But, here's the thing.
Speaker 4:Legitimately.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing, which's the thing um which I should have played off, as I don't know what's wrong with you you should have also started speaking in thermion anyways, oh yeah and um oh yeah. There are so many different. Uh, they had so many deleted scenes. There's evidently a mockumentary that was made years later that people thought was real, about the show being off the air now where he was never on the air, but I'm thinking of tony shalhoub and his approach, we would get to him he asked can I be the guy that, like I just want my character to be just on board with everything, just on board?
Speaker 1:from the beginning it's just like wow. And all half of his lines, I swear, are almost under his breath and you barely catch them, almost all of them.
Speaker 2:Almost all of them are under his breath uh, I mean squinting eyes from the moment from the moment he arrives, quasi mumble yeah, but like do you?
Speaker 1:even know if there's air here yeah feels okay to me.
Speaker 4:Feels okay to me yeah, like and and uh. Apparently that's another situation where sam rockwell um was apparently supposed to be a much smaller character, but because of how much he was improvising and how much he was adding to the character, they were like well, no, we're going to keep Guy in here, and then you know.
Speaker 1:I do appreciate that they did not red shirt him no but they totally set him up like you're ready for Guy to die?
Speaker 4:He died on episode 81.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do appreciate that they did not redshirt him, no, but they totally set him up like you're ready for Guy to die. Oh yeah, oh in fact.
Speaker 4:Actually, that's my favorite thing is at the very end of the film, spoiler alert, where, when they have to use the Omega, he's the only one and he's sitting there like screaming and like, like, like, like, just like, completely like being shot, like every bullet is hitting around him and killing everyone around him. He never gets hit. He is the only one during the Omega event that does not die.
Speaker 1:And you know they'd be like well, the only person that's going to survive this is going to be Guy. And then the whole thing about flying the ship. How? We fly the ship and how they're leaving the dock.
Speaker 2:Tommy Weber.
Speaker 1:Thank you. He was a kid when he was in the show and now he's an adult and he's like oh, I remember I did this, I know how I did this, I had a whole system for it.
Speaker 2:Remember, they modeled this after your movement.
Speaker 1:And then he just starts like everybody's like wait, you're here. We're drifting into the oh so good, right. Because I mean we've seen a lot of Star Trek, so we've seen a lot of gratuitous. Let's look at the ship in slow motion, and it's like, oh, this is the best, because, as we're watching, the ship just be mutilated, yeah.
Speaker 4:And again, you know Star Trek. We watched the original episodes, we watched the movies and all that. Sure, the initial Star Trek, the motion picture. Oh my God, the like 17 minute. I don't actually know if it's that long, but like homage to the ship where they're in a, a shuttlecraft trying to board the ship, and instead of just boarding the ship, they go the entire length around the ship and see the ship from every fracking angle right, it is so long and gratuitously masturbatory, that it is one of those things where it's like I appreciate even more that they're just like oh my god, that's the actual ship.
Speaker 4:And then they're on the ship like there's not that, like they didn't.
Speaker 1:They almost could have you know the other thing, and it doesn't matter which incarnation you see, it doesn't matter what generation, what it is their intro, their credit sequence is forever.
Speaker 4:Yes, that is also a true statement.
Speaker 1:It's always like let's show this ship go from one side of the galaxy to the other.
Speaker 4:Which I think Lower Decks has done an amazing job of, because of the sheer fact that it's the exact same sequence, but that they continuously add additional elements to it every time.
Speaker 1:Right? Well, and in this movie they have the opening credit sequence from the show, and then at the end they have, when it comes back after being off the air, the new intro and new characters. Yes, and the movie was rated PG.
Speaker 2:Yep, so I'm glad that it's it's rated pg. I know there's really like only one moment that I caught yep, that, um, it's like they don't even shy away from and, uh, it almost makes it funnier I feel, is the moment where they're in the because they have to go through the chompy things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, that have no purpose. They have no purpose.
Speaker 2:But um, you can clearly see she goes. What the fuck is that?
Speaker 1:Or something like that. She goes yeah, I think the original line is fuck that.
Speaker 2:And she goes oh, screw that, screw that, but it's pretty great that they're like. You know what I think, even though it's obvious that's not what she's saying. It's, it's almost it. It's another level of the joke. I correct.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's, that's more than fair, because again even my brain started to go like wait, how drunk am I?
Speaker 2:yeah, this. I think this this movie is my introduction to sam rockwell yeah, I feel like yeah I hadn't seen and it was or took notice of sam rockwell, if I had seen him in anything right and I was like I would watch anything with this guy right, and it was Rainn Wilson's first movie.
Speaker 1:Like Rainn Wilson, this is his first movie. Oh, really it was. He featured aliens.
Speaker 2:Yes, I do remember he's in it, correct Yep, but.
Speaker 1:I didn't know it was one of his first movies. That's amazing. No, it was his first movie. Before this he had done some soap opera or something Mm-hmm, and he's hysterical for the little bit that he's, oh yeah.
Speaker 4:He's hilarious. But you are correct Rockwell, green Mile and Galaxy Quest came out the same year.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, that's right. That's what he said. He said everybody was trying to get in to see the Green Mile and those who couldn't saw Galaxy Quest. That's right, it was Green Mile.
Speaker 4:And lo and behold, they still saw Sam Rockwell.
Speaker 2:Sam Rockwell. Sam Rockwell, a very different Sam Rockwell.
Speaker 4:He'd done a number of things before that but for the most part Freaking evil in the.
Speaker 2:Green Mile.
Speaker 1:So scary.
Speaker 2:Versatile actor.
Speaker 1:He's one of those actors that if he's in the movie you're like oh, it's going to be good.
Speaker 3:Correct.
Speaker 1:It's really amazing how this cast, how well they gelled together. And I think Tim Allen was offered this script as well as Bicentennial man and everybody was like, oh, that's like Oscar meat, Like that's that, you want the Bicentennial man, which, by the way, did not do well. He took this one and you know, but it was at first glance it was the riskier project, but he's like, oh, I know this guy, I can play this guy. I know this guy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean he played it perfectly. I mean it really fits right in his wheelhouse of Tim Allen characters from Buzz Lightyear to Home Improvement, which actually I've been watching recently because it's on Netflix. And man, is that a ridiculous 90s show?
Speaker 1:I'm like, ooh you can't get away with that. Today. It's like how many great taglines does Tim Allen have? Because here in this movie it's never give up.
Speaker 2:Never surrender.
Speaker 1:And then in all the Toy Story movies it's To infinity and beyond and in Home Improvement improvement.
Speaker 2:It's yep exactly hashtag or oh yes, oh yes, I do that also just continuing on the side note, watching home improvement as an adult. Um the three Taylor boys. I mean I didn't grow up with any brothers but holy crap, like just mean to each other. I was like, eee, we were mean to each other.
Speaker 4:We were All right. You were the baby. You don't remember.
Speaker 1:We hit you in the head a lot oh man.
Speaker 2:So I'm Mark in this situation. Poor Mark, yep, poor.
Speaker 4:Mark.
Speaker 3:Yep poor Mark.
Speaker 1:Let's poke the bear.
Speaker 2:All right. So as we kind of referenced in the first act here, this film was very well received, Very well received.
Speaker 1:Can I one more thing to say about well received?
Speaker 2:This is how Poke the Bear always goes.
Speaker 1:You're not wrong, I start to talk. You're not wrong, I start to talk and then Trisha's like oh one more thing. No, Okay, so it was well-received. It was what? What was the tomato rating?
Speaker 2:90%.
Speaker 1:Only two Star Trek movies scored over that in all of the Star Trek movies.
Speaker 2:Which two? Wow, which two Do you know? Which two do you know?
Speaker 1:Yes, I do. And coming in at number one, Star Trek with Chris Pine.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, the reboot with JJ Abrams, yeah fair Coming in at number two, First Contact.
Speaker 4:Oh, which we've already referenced in this episode specifically. Very good.
Speaker 1:And everything else is below that.
Speaker 4:So technically, in the Star Trek ranking it comes in third, it's Star Trek ranking. Star Trek ranking. It comes in third. It's Star Trek ranking. Wow, star.
Speaker 2:Trek ranking it comes in third. That's pretty good. I like it. What's interesting is that the popcorn meter, which is the audience rating, is only at 79%.
Speaker 4:That actually does fascinate me yeah.
Speaker 2:But perhaps that will change over time. So I've got three rotten reviews to share with you. Uh, this evening, and we'll start with usa today, quest skirts dangerously close to being the thing it parodies a second rate space opera.
Speaker 1:Ooh, I called that, didn't I?
Speaker 2:I find that fascinating.
Speaker 4:I do, and I remember JJ Abrams specifically when he talked about the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek, and it wasn't space opera specifically, but he did mention that it was orchestra versus rock.
Speaker 2:Right, it was rock and roll, yeah, and he just wanted to put a little rock and roll. Yeah, and he just wanted to put a little rock and roll into yeah. So when he re-envisioned with chris pine camera.
Speaker 4:Yeah, literally drumming on the camera. But so to to that end, I you know, I understand and I guess I appreciate how uh they are, are hitting that homage with the space opera that Star Trek is.
Speaker 1:No, I wouldn't call it second rate, though I'm kind of like what.
Speaker 4:Tim Allen's character does not. I don't think any of them actually recognize themselves as being second rate. But what makes this heartbreaking is these actors think that they're playing a role. Right these actors think that they're playing a role Right and that them playing that role, even if it is a second rate show, has real life consequences intergalactically.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, All right. Next we got the Orlando Sentinel and they say the premise is the best thing about the movie. But it's such a dandy premise that it's almost enough dandy huh dandy. Dandy is definitely the word, I'm not. I'm not misreading that dandy all right then. Lastly, we've got the dallas morning news, and they say each actor plays an actor playing the sci-fi characters.
Speaker 1:Oh, so they saw the movie. They saw the movie.
Speaker 2:Exactly. It's a bit difficult to keep track of who's who and ultimately the characters are so underdeveloped it's even more difficult to care.
Speaker 4:This is somebody who arrived late to the movie, because one of the most fascinatingly beautiful things about this movie is that first 10, 10 to 15 minutes, yes, where they're establishing how this show has become the iconic classic that it is and who these actors are. And you also get all the backstage of them at this convention, where you have the Shakespearean actor who is so absolutely torn with the fact that he can't get away from this fucking character, this Lazarus.
Speaker 1:He did Shakespeare, he did Shakespeare.
Speaker 4:Five curtain calls it doesn't matter everybody, just this is somebody who went and got like popcorn and missed, like the most important part of this movie to me and then somebody like taggart who just wants to get back to being loved like this just wants this role again.
Speaker 1:And then you have gwen who just wants people to look at her in the eye, exactly.
Speaker 2:And yet, like you know, is reluctant but then goes along with it. And what I think is so remarkably amazing, actually, about Sigourney Weaver's performance is that she takes such a ridiculous, objectifiable character and makes that character so fantastically three-dimensional right, because she's like this real person that shows up to be like the prop right on set and uh.
Speaker 1:And yet, like they've been together for so long, uh, because of these conventions and all this stuff that it's like you can see her and alexander have. Yes, she's always worried about Jason and obviously there's tension between the two.
Speaker 3:Yes, that's always existed.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And it's like there's this family and that happens.
Speaker 2:I hear a lot with a lot of productions, yeah, when you are working together so closely for so many years, of course, yeah. It's bound to happen, and so to say that they're underdeveloped is just like what?
Speaker 4:yeah, you clearly missed something. I almost wonder what the fans hot takes would be if they have a bear poke.
Speaker 1:That would give us the insight into why the fans are not as Although I hear that as a whole, like Galaxy Quest, is beloved by Star Trek fans.
Speaker 4:I mean, god knows it's beloved by us and we are Star Trek fans. We greatly appreciate all of our listeners for choosing this podcast supporting independent films and the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival.
Speaker 3:I'm Jonathan Se See like it and thanks for imbibing with us.
