Starcrash [1978]

Looking at the title and the date, it's painfully obvious what this movie is a ripoff of. The very beginning even starts out with the same ship shot but with a really crappy looking model. The film, however, isn't too much like Star Wars outside of a death star type device that needs to be destroyed, light sabers, and a robot sidekick. Otherwise, it just feels like it fits a lot of general sci-fi conventions (that Star Wars probably established honestly). That being said, this movie is very funny and definitely worth a watch.

Our main character is the scantily clad woman on the cover, redundantly named Stella Star. Along with her sidekick, the curiously magic most 70s man to ever exist, and a Southern robot named L (or El? Who knows?), they have to destroy the not-death-star and find Christopher Plummer's son, David Hasselhoff. Yes, they are both in this movie. We're hoping Plummer got a lot of money for his five minutes of screen time. There's a villain with an extremely square head who leaves no piece of scenery unchewed and some of the worst models and effects you could hope for shown with the upmost earnestness. The plot has some detours with Amazons only wearing slightly more clothes than our main character, an ice planet, and some troglodytes, but they eventually find themselves on the not-death-star and meet the Hoff. The last twenty minutes are a battle sequence full of wut where the galaxy is saved. 

Part of what makes this movie a joy outside of the effects and the blatant idea theft is the genuine feeling of it all. The actors are really trying. The sets are probably cheap, but thought is there. The costumes are silly, but they look more like costumes than just garbage thrown together from the back of someone's closet. The hair and makeup is actually really good. They have some real actors in this. Our lead I immediately clocked as a former spokesmodel because although she clearly has a modeling background, she can actually read her lines even if her tone is mostly just "enthusiastic" regardless of the situation. They really tried, and I respect it.

Spoon Rating: 6