History YMMV / Spaceballs

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The scene at the restaurant/gas station towards the end. It comes, it goes, it's not spoken of again, and seemed to only be there to give Creator/JohnHurt his cameo. It does help scare Lone Starr and Barf out of the diner and back on the path to Druidia, but... yeah, RuleOfFunny
** Although, if the scene were cut out viewers would likely wonder why Barf is complaining about "starving" and that they should have stayed for the wedding dinner, when Vespa's father said in an earlier scene they took money for lunch, gas, and tolls.
** It's also the closest the film gets to emulating the famous cantina scene from the original ''Star Wars''.
* CriticalDissonance: The film has a mixed reception among critics, currently standing at 55% on ''Website/RottenTomatoes''. However, it has a much more respectable audience score of 83%.

** The Schwartz in French was translated as "l'Ashtuce", a mispronunciation of "l'astuce" meaning some kind of tip/advice, or cleverness or trick.

** In the Castilian version, the Schwartz was translated as "la Suerte" (the Luck), thus giving us the idea that dumb luck harnessed is more powerful than the Force.

** Pizza the Hut's brief appearance, in some ways, mirrors Jabba the Hutt's deleted scene from ''Film/ANewHope'', despite the fact that audiences and fans never laid eyes on that scene until the special edition was released in 1997; 10 years after ''Spaceballs'' hit theaters!
*** Speaking of which, this isn't the only time Dom [=DeLuise=] would have [[Series/CharlieHorseMusicPizza a role associated with pizza]].

** An actual ''Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money'' [[http://www.slashfilm.com/mel-brooks-teases-spaceballs-2-the-search-for-more-money/ has been mentioned by Mel Brooks himself]]!

** Prince Valium, last prince of the galaxy, is so boring he puts everyone (including himself) to sleep. [[Film/{{Beetlejuice}} Is it any wonder sleeping with him would have the same result?]]

* RewatchBonus: There's loads of subtle background gags and comical expressions that one probably won't catch on a first viewing. One notable example is the scene where the [[CameraAbuse camera smacks into Dark Helmet]]; watch it again and look close and you'll see Helmet subtly push Sandurz away, prompting him to look at the camera and lean away from the shot.

* VindicatedByCable: When the film was first released, its poor critical reception (The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards even chose it as Worst Movie of 1987!) wrecked Creator/MelBrooks' golden streak and was the beginning of the end of his filmmaking career. By the time it had hit DVD, ''Spaceballs'' was already a staple '80s comedy and is now regarded as a classic.

*** Some have noted similarities with several elements of the sequel trilogy, including villains Kylo Ren and Dark Helmet. Both wear masks that they periodically remove, both talk to inanimate objects when alone, both prone to whiney outbursts, etc. The connection becomes even more hilarious after a big plot twist of ''Film/TheLastJedi''. [[spoiler:Dark Helmet, in an anticlimactic subversion of the "I am your father" twist, revealed that he was Lone Starr's "father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate," which essentially meant their relationship was "Absolutely nothing." Kylo Ren would similarly dismiss any belief (including fan speculation) that Rey had any special relation to the other main characters by revealing that her parents too were absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.]] '''[[UpToEleven On top of that]]''', with ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', we have [[spoiler:the revelation that Lone Star is the long-lost son of royal parents paralleling the revelation that Rey is [[RetCon actually]] the long-lost granddaughter of the former Emperor of the galaxy.]]

** Lone Starr's line, "Did I miss something? When did we get to Disneyland?", becomes even funnier when [[Franchise/StarWars Lucasfilm]] was bought by {{Creator/Disney}}, and Disneyland would open a ''Star Wars''-themed area in 2019. (Although, ''Ride/StarTours'' already opened a few months before ''Spaceballs'' premiered.)

** The fact that there is a item used in the film called ''Film/SpaceJam''.

** Lone Starr's [[{{Series/Firefly}} coat has a brownish hue]]...along with [[DeadpanSnarker a few]] [[KnightInSourArmor other]] Mal Reynolds-ish traits.

** Prince Valium, last prince of the galaxy, so boring he puts everyone (including himself) to sleep. [[Film/{{Beetlejuice}} Is it any wonder sleeping with him would have the same result?]]

** One DVD feature allows the viewer to watch the movie at LudicrousSpeed (ie, sped up beyond comprehension). Movies played 1000% faster have since become a Website/YouTube meme.

** "No, go past this part! In fact...never play this again."

** And before him, both the Spaceball in that scene who calls out "Not a thing sir!" and the one who helps Dark Helmet up after the Ludicrous Speed meltdown is Creator/RobPaulsen, in a rare live-action role.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: You probably don't need any help finding the mirror propping up Dark Helmet's "floating" Volkswagen. On open-matte prints, the track underneath the chestbuster puppet during the dinner scene also becomes obvious. In fact, given the film's nature this could just be deliberate. Hell, there's even a feature on the DVD where they point out all of the failed effects.

** Lone Star and Vespa share a heart-to-heart in the desert. Vespa admits that, even if they make it back to her kingdom, she'll be forced to marry someone she doesn't love. Lone Star agrees with sympathy and tells her that his parents left him to be raised by monks, so he doesn't know who he is. He shows her his OrphansPlotTrinket, a necklace with writing no one can read, and says it's the only thing his family left with him.

** After Lone Star and Barf return Vespa to her kingdom and stop Dark Helmet's plot, they are both in HeroicBSOD. Lone Star loves Vespa but can't marry her since he's a space ruffian, while Vespa believes he just rescued her for the money. Her dad then tells her Lone Star refused the reward he demanded as compensation for her rescue, took a smaller amount for gas and food, and asked him not to tell the princess of his change of heart. Vespa has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone expression for having judged Lone Star so poorly.
** Happy tears at the end: Lone Star finds out from Yoghurt that he is a prince, and uses liquid Schwartz to turn his ship around and go to marry Vespa. He dresses in a nice suit, interrupts the ceremony, and tells her of his royal status. When the priest agrees to marry them and rushes through the vows, they both look teary-eyed before going for TheBigDamnKiss.

** In the Castilian version, the Schwartz was translated as "la Suerte" (the Luck). Thus giving us the idea that dumb luck harnessed is more powerful than the Force.
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** Creator/HarryShearer playing a smarmy news anchor feels like a pre-emptive reference to ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Oddly, Shearer is the only actor to appear in both this movie and ''Film/ANewHope'' (he dubbed the voices of some of the Rebel pilots).

*** Speaking of the cartoon, one episode deals with an ebola outbreak. Not so funny now that Ebola has made it to the US (not that the cartoon was funny to begin with).

'''SPACEBALLS: THE OPINIONS'''

'''SPACEBALLS: THE SUBJECTIVES'''

** The announced ''Franchise/{{Rocky}} Five...Thousand'' review is somewhat funnier since an actual ''Film/RockyV'' was made (there were four ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' films when ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' came out), but even funnier since Rocky returned again a lot later in ''Film/RockyBalboa'', and yet again in ''Film/{{Creed}}''.

* VindicatedByCable: When the film was first released, its poor critical reception (the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards even chose it as Worst Movie of 1987!) wrecked Creator/MelBrooks' golden streak and was the beginning of the end of his filmmaking career. By the time it had hit DVD, ''Spaceballs'' was already a staple 80s comedy and is now regarded as a classic.
* WereStillRelevantDammit: By far the biggest criticism the film faced at the time of it's release was that Mel Brooks took too long to catch up with the sci-fi trend that ''Franchise/StarWars'' had started in the late 70s/early 80s and that he was now more interested in keeping up with the zeitgeist than simply making funny movies like he had in the past. (This became somewhat HilariousInHindsight, as ''Star Wars'' as a cultural phenomenon ended up lasting a ''lot'' longer than the early 80s, meaning ''Spaceballs'' has aged pretty well--at the time, the franchise was largely dormant, and wouldn't start to return until ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy''.)

'''SPACEBALLS: THE SUBJECTIVE TROPES'''

** Deliberately done as well with the dancing Xenomorph. At first it looks like aggressive and fearsome just like its original counterparts...then he starts joyfully singing and dancing to the "Hello my baby"'s notes.

* TearJerker: The scene where King Roland says goodbye to a picture of his daughter as he suffocates is played surprisingly straight.

** And before him, both the Spaceball in that scene who calls out "Not a thing sir!" and the one who helps him up after the Ludicrous Speed meltdown is Creator/RobPaulsen, in a rare live-action role.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: By far the biggest criticism the film faced at the time of it's release was that Mel Brooks took too long to catch up with the sci-fi trend that ''Franchise/StarWars'' had started in the late 70s/early 80s and that he was now more interested in keeping up with the zeitgeist than simply making funny movies like he had in the past.

*** The concept of a planet being protected by a shield that prevents ships from landing is amusing. The fact that the concept would later appear in ''Film/RogueOne''--an actual ''Franchise/StarWars'' movie--is absolutely hysterical.