Mom and Dad Save the World (1992)

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nTitle: Mom and Dad Save The World (1992)

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nDirector: Greg Beeman

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nWriter: Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson

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nCast: Jon Lovitz, Jeffrey Jones, Teri Garr, Eric Idle

nReview:

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nI am a great admirer of the legendary English comedy troupenMonty Python, you know, the guys behind Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975),nLife of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983), three movies I never getntired of watching. I love how their stuff seems silly, but actually talks aboutna lot of important themes and subject matter. If you’re a fan of the MontynPython guys like I am, then you also probably admire the films of director TerrynGilliam, who was at one point one of the Python guys, but then branched out tonmake films of his own. Films like Time Bandits (1981) and The Adventures of BaronnMunchausen (1989). Gilliam is yet another director who mixes comedy and satirenin his films, he often times criticizes societies obsession with reality and preachesnon about our god given right to delight in fantasies, escapism and stories! Momnand Dad Save the World seems to come from that same ‘Pythonesque’ universe,nthat universe that cares not for logic or rules, but for zaniness! 

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nIn Mom and Dad Save the World we meet Dick and Marge Nelson,ntwo loopy parents who are about to embark on a summer vacation, just the two ofnthem, the kids stay at home. Unfortunately for Dick and Marge, millions ofnmiles into space, Tod Spengo, ruler of planet Spengo has fallen madly in lovenwith Marge, whom he has spotted while scoping the galaxy for a planet tondestroy. Obsessed with Marge, Spengo uses his giant magnet and pulls her andnDick through space (along with their station wagon) all the way to the edge ofnthe universe, where planet Spengo lies. Oncenthey get their, they meet the self proclaimed ‘Spengoans’.  Their ruler, Tod Spengo, wants Marge as hisnQueen and wants to kill Dick, so he can have Marge all to himself. Too bad for Tod,nDick manages to escape and unite with the rebels of planet Spengo, whom he organizesnto go on a revolt against Tod and his fascist (yet moronic) empire while rescuing his wife in the process!

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nSo this movie is all kinds of fun for me, I really don’t getnwhy it didn’t make more money way back when it was released in 1992. For somenreason this film was completed in 1990 but not released by the studio untiln1992. Why? I don’t know, but if you ask me to speculate either the studio wasn’tnsure the movie was going to sell, they couldn’t figure out how to market it or maybenthere was a change in management in the studio, these are usually the reasonsnwhy a studio would hold back a movie like that. Maybe they just thought theynhad a bad film in their hands. Who knows. The film had a budget of 16 millionnbut only made back little more than 2 million. It only played for one week inntheaters! Another problem the film probably encountered is that though fromnafar it looks like a silly film (and it is) it does have some double entendrenjokes that might have made it difficult to sell it as a kids film. Had the titularnparents taken the kids along in the adventure, instead of leaving them at homenand brought down the raunchy jokes, then maybe they could have sold it as ankids film, as it is, this is a very silly film for adults. And that’s always anhard sell any way you look at it.

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nBut whatever, I like the film the way it is. The artndirection is really cool, the sets look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book andnso do the creatures which range from killer mushrooms to midgets with the headnof a dog or a fish, sounds crazy, I know, but that’s the kind of movie this is.nThe jokes are decidedly ‘Pythonesque’ in style, it’s obvious the writer andndirector adore Monty Python and Terry Gilliam style of comedy. One funny scenenhas the self proclaimed idiots from planet Spengo picking up a  weapon that makes anyone who touches itninstantly disappear. One idiot picks it up and disappears, the next one picksnit up and disappears, and the next one picks it up….all because the device saysn“pick me up”.  So the humor, while quitensilly, is also quite good.

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nOne of the best things about this movie though is the cast. Eric Idle plays King Raff, the true king of Planet Spengo! His role is a small one, but he makes his funny mark! I’venpersonally always enjoyed Jon Lovitz’s style of humor, there’s something kindnof sleazy about him that fits perfectly with the character of Tod Spengo, thendictator. I loved how he worries about the silliest things like “on a level ofnone to ten, in terms of world dominating greatness…where would you place me?”nTeri Garr was always one of my favorites, I’ve been an admirer of hers sensenshe played sexy laboratory assistant ‘Inga’ in Mel Brook’s  Young Frankenstein (1974), here she plays thenrole of the quintessential mom, taking pictures of the galaxy as she travelsnthrough space on her station wagon. And Jeffrey Jones plays the goofy father well;nsimilar to the role he played in Tim Burton’s Bettlejuice (1988), only on thisnone he ends up turning into an overweight Flash Gordon.

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nAnd speaking of Flash Gordon, at the end of the day, Mom andnDad Save the World is a huge spoof of Flash Gordon films. Fans of that FlashnGordon (1980) film starring Sam Jones and Max Von Sydow will notice that thisnfilm is practically the same exact film note for note. Just switch Sam Jonesnfor Jeffrey Jones (they even share the same last name!) Max Von Sydow for Jon Lovitz andnMelody Anderson for Teri Garr and you’ll see it’s the same exact movie. Evennthe rebels that Jeffrey Jones ends up leading are bird people of sorts! Sonyeah, they might as well have called this one “Dad Gordon”. So, anyways, thisnfilm was ambitious in my book, a lot of effort went into it for it to have diednsuch a quick death at the box office; practically unnoticed by audiences. In mynopinion, it deserves to find an audience and become a cult film, if it isn’t onenalready. Do you enjoy films like The Ice Pirates (1984), Spaceballs (1987) ornFlash Gordon (1980)? Do you like Terry Gilliam or Monty Python? Then give Momnand Dad Save the World a chance, it’s got an innocence and a goofiness to itnthat can’t be found in today’s films because studios play it too safe nowadaysnand don’t dare spend their millions on something as offbeat as this film. Still not convinced, okay, it was written by the guys who brougth you the Bill and Ted‘s movies and directed by the guy who made License to Drive (1988)! Momnand Dad Save the World was made during the last half of the 80’s and though itnwas released in ’92, it still has that 80’s silliness to it that’s hard to comenby in today’s cinematic landscape. So if you want to get your 80’s groove on, looknno further than this.

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