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Parents' Guide to

Galaxy Quest

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Sci-fi comedy has violence, language, sexual references.

Movie PG 1999 102 minutes
Galaxy Quest Movie Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 21 parent reviews

age 9+

Schlocky fun

On par with The Three Amigos and The Princess Bride, this is a thoughtful, funny, wonderfully cast production. It may help if you have a background with fandom for Star Trek.

This title has:

Great messages
age 13+

Imagination comes true

What's so brilliant is that the premise of the story is based upon Sci-Fi writers coining terms and phrases that were unique to its own Universe. Unbeknownst to these writers is that All Things exist and nothing that One can imagine is not real. Its just present in another Galaxy is all. Afterall, It Is A Very Big Universe. That this understanding is conveyed as it goes without saying, too me, is brilliant. Also, The Minor Miners bit is hilarious.

This title has:

Great messages

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (21 ):
Kids say (14 ):

Sharply written and performed, this hilarious romp affectionately skewers TV sci-fi, its stars, and its fans. Galaxy Quest's creative premise leads to hilarious lines and situations that play on both Star Trek and the actors' hang-ups. For example, Rickman's Spock/McCoy-hybrid character stares glumly at his alien gill make-up in the mirror and murmurs about the time he got five curtain calls as Richard III. Weaver, who plays a counterpart of Lt. Uhura, repeats everything the computer says. And Shalhoub, as the spaceship's Scotty-like mechanic; Mitchell, as the smart child star reliving the glory of his youth; and Sam Rockwell, as the imperiled expendable officer, also deliver hilarious lines.

The fast, fresh script is full of humor, but its attempts to poke fun at stereotypes never really land. It is, however, a terrific premise that unreels in a tightly constructed farce that's filled with surprises. Perhaps the biggest one is that we really come to care about the characters.

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