# Starship Troopers (1997)

### reviewed by
Ulrich Schreglmann

    Review: Starship Troopers

I know that Greek guy who is able to make the most absurd humorous remarks while keeping a completely straight face. Occasionally that leaves you wonder if he just meant that last statement or whether he's just pulling your leg again. I, too, appear to have that ability with a few people. Some time ago we had an environmentaly conscious guest in our house, and I could drive her up the wall with the most outrageous anti-environmentalist opinions. It took her quite a while until she finally realized provocation was exactly what I was aiming at, and nothing else.

What does that have to do with Starship Troopers?

I've seen the movie (twice by now) and enjoyed it immensely. I'm going to watch it a couple of times more. Afterwards I read the critiques, accusing it of bad taste, of cliche characters, of naive soap opera schtick, of totally implausible science and action, of fascist, Nazi subtext, and I couldn't believe it!

    Don't you get it?

THE MOVIE IS A JOKE! A JOKE! A SATIRE! It is so from the title credits through the end credits. And it's not involuntary humor. That movie was made with the sole intent of parodying the fascist, militarist vision of the future in Heinlein's novel, Starship Troopers. And display an amazing barrage of mindless F/X in the bargain.

The depiction of the civilian life is, as many have pointed out yet, reminiscent of Melrose Place. The propaganda movie sequences you see from time to time remind one of WWII propaganda, part German, part American. The barren alien planetscapes look like they're straight out of Calvin's "Spaceman Spiff, Interplanetary Explorer Extraordinaire" fantasies, and just like them they're populated solely by hostile, alien, bug-eyed monsters. The news coverage at the beginning of the invasion of Klendathu (even that silly name would have made me rest my case--if it weren't an invention of Heinlein's) is, of course, "Gulf War, sponsored by CNN" all over. When people get gored and dismembered you can't help but have the duel between Arthur and the Black Knight in Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail spring to mind.

A few critics asked how you were supposed to care about such cheesily constructed characters. Answer: You don't. You're not supposed to, for crying out loud.

Someone mentioned that with the action set in Buenos Aires and even called B.A. and all the characters rather WASPish despite their Spanish last names it all was more than a little reminiscent of the L.A. of Beverly Hills 90210. Why, you don't say! Didn't it occur to you that that might have been the point?

    (Everybody sing: "I want to BE A part of B.A. Buenos Aires, Big
    Apple!")

When the hero's cute love interest flies a shuttle to the ship she's supposed to pilot she does so in a way that I'm guessing little girls playing dolls imagine Barbie to go on a joyride--probably breaking every law in the book, stretching design specifications to the limit, but it's all right, because she's a "natural pilot," good at everything. Nothing could possibly go wrong with her at the helm. Just a wild guess, but I think it's really no coincidence the character actually looks like a lifesize Barbie doll.

When the three main characters vow to stay friends, and the smart guy mentions it's highly unlikely they'll see each other again, you just know they'll be united by the end. When the soldier carrying the radio equipment is caught by a giant bug and the squad leader shoots him saying "I expect anybody to do the same for me!" you know someone is going to have to do it for him soon. You also know that someone is going to have a moment of hesitation, needing encouragement from the one about to die. It's all war movie cliche so old it has a beard to trip over. And it all belongs in there.

When Carl Jenkins finally struts in wearing an SS uniform and talks about the survival of the species, "us vs. them," that should have been the last straw of realization. (Hint: replace "species" with "race.")

Accusing that movie of cheesiness and implausibility is like accusing The Naked Gun and Airplane of the same deficiencies. I don't get it. If someone's managed to switch off their disbelief in Mars Attacks and Men in Black and to just laugh, what kept them from doing the same here? The fact it didn't say "surreal comedy" in the trailer?

Actually that is a problem. The hype appears to be targeted at the wrong audience. When I told a saleswoman at the bookstore I patronize, who hadn't seen the movie yet, about its deliberate absurdity, she replied you couldn't possibly tell that from the advertising.

It takes about 10 minutes into the flick to fully recognize it for what it is, but unlike with e.g. Men in Black you don't know what to expect BEFORE the lights go down, unless someone has told you. Many weren't told, methinks, and they appeared to be less capable adapting. A lot of the audience who thought it sucked were probably among the target group who love Star Wars but wouldn't understand Spaceballs. Or my Greek friend. Or me.

Go and watch this movie. It's cool beyond measure. However, enjoy it the way you enjoyed Men in Black (Uniform), not Star Wars or Alien.

    Ulrich Schreglmann
    mailto:sm@forwiss.de
    http://www.forwiss.de/~uhschreg/

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