‘The Ice Pirates’
MGM, 1984

starring: Robert Urich, Mary Crosby, Angelica Houston and Michael D. Roberts
directed by: Stewart Raffill

the plot: In the distant future, much of the galaxy’s water supply has dried up, the result of a decades long war. What little water can be found is frozen into blocks of ice and trafficked by the evil Mithran empire. But constantly nipping at the Mithran’s heels are unscrupulous ice pirates like Jason (Urich), Roscoe (Roberts) and Maida (Houston), who, along with their crewmates, stage a daring raid on a Mithran ice freighter. In the process, they kidnap the sleeping Princess Karina (Crosby), who befriends the pirates and decides to hire them to track down her father, who vanished while searching for the mythic “Seventh World,” a planet full of water. But the road to the Seventh World is fraught with danger, and if the Mithrans don’t capture the intrepid rogues, they may still face doom in the time warp that leads to the Seventh World.

why it’s good: While not technically good by any means, “The Ice Pirates” is still a lot of fun, in a hokey, cheesy kind of way. It’s a solid spoof of late-1970s and early ’80s sci-fi flicks, with nods to “Alien,” the “Star Wars” trilogy, “Star Trek” and even “Battlestar Galactica.” While the comedy isn’t as broad as “Spaceballs,” “The Ice Pirates” has a lot of choice gags, including bits about space herpes and robot pimps. Much of the appeal of “Pirates” lies in this good-natured goofiness. Even when the film tries to play it straight, it’s so over the top that it’s impossible to take seriously. It’s also nice to see Urich and Houston, two actors not usually associated with B-grade sci-fi, swashbuckle their way around. “Pirates” is also chock-full of cameos from familiar faces, including Ron “Hellboy” Perlman as the swarthy Zeno and Hollywood speech-meister Bruce Vilanch as an annoying android.

why you should own it: While it’s not essential to have in your collection and MGM’s DVD is particularly light on extras, “Pirates” is worth a rental if you’re in the mood to wile a Sunday afternoon away on a silly movie.