Review: Dreamship Surprise- Period 1

When the evil Jens Maul (Rick Kavanian) threatens the Earth, the only saviour comes in the form of a penis-shaped ship full of mincing, colour-coded, Miss Waikiki wannabes (don’t ask, just watch), headed by the not quite stoic Kapt ‘n Kork (Christian Tramitz). Michael ‘Bully’ Herbig is the flamingly gay Mr. Spuck, who seems to be prone to more histrionic hissy fits than Elton John searching for his tiara (Mr Spuck’s reaction to being beamed is hilarious; ‘Beaming gets me in the balls!’). A blend of “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” you say? That oughtta send the fan geeks into apoplexy, if not, the limp-wristed, mincy Wiggles-schtick just might piss a few people off. Til Schweiger plays Rock, a macho space traveller with a fast ship/taxi cab (and yes, he does get a big Millennium Falcon-esque speech at one point), who reluctantly helps out our limp-wristed heroes, whilst rolling his eyes at their camp, mincy antics.

Hilarious, bizarre German spoof of several Hollywood blockbusters, but notably the recent “Star Wars” prequels, only very, very warped. It’s like “Spaceballs” crossed with “Star Trek”, only played by The Village People…and with Wiggles-esque musical interludes (and colour co-ordinated outfits). And even that doesn’t totally describe the insanity this film brings, even making a side trip to Medieval times (the mission involves using a time machine/couch that kind of reminded me of something Douglas Adams would’ve dreamed up) for a segment somewhere in between a spoof of “A Knight’s Tale” and homage to “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. The extremely hammy Sky Dumont, as an evil lord with a big schnoz, is particularly funny here and turns up again in a different role when our heroes end up in the Wild West (a role he previously played in “Manitou’s Shoe”, a less amusing western parody made by the same team). The Argentinean-born actor (who had a role in “Eyes Wide Shut”) makes for an hilarious, preening schmuck to say the least.

Admittedly, the film isn’t as funny when it ventures beyond the realm of “Star Wars” or “Star Trek” spoof, but even then it’s never dull. You’ll probably notice a whole swag of other references and in-jokes I have failed to list here, especially if you happen to be German. Schweiger (not the first person you’d expect to find here) gamely pokes fun at himself, in a Han Solo-type role, whilst Tramitz (who looks like a gay, German version of Roger Moore) and Herbig are outrageously funny as essentially a couple of bickering old queens in Captain Kirk and Spock garb. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for an amusing and rather unsubtle dig at Jar-Jar Binks by way of a servile Rastafarian dude seen mopping the floors and such in the background of some scenes. That’s so wrong and yet so very right, especially if you’re one of the many Jar-Jar detractors out there.

You might find some of this a little too similar to “Spaceballs” (the Darth Vader character, called Jens Maul, isn’t a patch on Dark Helmet) or “Galaxy Quest” (what the hell was that little beer-swilling alien landing at Area 51 all about?), but it’s never been done quite like this. Certainly it works best when the Surprise crew are the primary focus (I loved the line from a character clearly inspired by Mr. Chekov; ‘With respect Captain, wart speed is a bit dumbski!’), though the special FX scenes are surprisingly (no pun intended) very well-done, and are certainly decent facsimiles of the sort of FX you see in the “Star Wars” films. Oh, and if you thought the ship with breasts in Roger Corman’s classic “Battle Beyond the Stars” was overly suggestive, just what ‘till you see what the title ship here looks like. Meanwhile, the finale is touching, actually, in an odd way, especially given the silly nature of the rest of the film.

Not for conservative-types, perhaps, but it’s actually pretty innocuous on that front (not that there’s anything wrong with that!- Does that phrase have a use by date?), and above all, funny. The latter is especially important, because quite often humour will get lost in translation, but not so much here, non-Germans can still enjoy it (or at least, I did). Directed by Herbig (who, like most of the cast comes from a German TV show and this film was made as a result of an audience poll on what kind of film viewers wanted to see these guys make. It’s been called in some quarters the first democratically chosen movie ever), screenplay by Herbig, Alfons Biedermann, and co-star Rick Kavanian. A massive hit in its home country, showing that German Comedy isn’t an oxymoron.

Rating: B