luckily , some people got starship troopers . some people knew it was supposed to be silly . for those of you who didn't , how could you miss it ? from the very beginning , when we see an interactive internet-like promotional video for the armed forces of the future , it should be obvious this film is to be taken lightly . i guess without blatant one-liners and home alone style slapstick , some people just don't recognize such goofy humor . such a dry approach to such intentionally campy humor must have left some disillusioned . first thing to do before seeing this movie - lighten up . meet the equivalent of " beverly hills 90210 " meets " mighty morphin power rangers " . four close friends are now graduating high school and are ready to join the armed forces , which , in the future , means fighting for the whole galaxy and not just your country . johnny rico ( casper van dien ) is ready to join the infantry , mostly because his girlfriend carmen ibanez ( denise richards ) has enlisted to be a pilot . dizzy flores ( dina meyer ) has enlisted as a trooper , and it's possible she's joining merely to follow rico , whom she's always had eyes for . if you saw these three on the street , you'd automatically start searching for the fashion designers and photographers , for never has a movie's cast looked so much like the cut-out cover of " seventeen " magazine . the lone non-supermodel , carl jenkins ( played by doogie howser himself , neil patrick harris ) is the brainiac who gets into the military intelligence division , the top secret department that pretty much leaves doogie - er , carl out of the picture . ( good call - now we can put all our drooling efforts into only the most deserving of characters ) . right off the bat , rico becomes the star of the show , far surpassing all the other soldiers and becoming squadron leader in a short period of time . but a horrific accident during a standard training exercise ( which follows all to closely to his breakup with carmen ) leaves rico ready to call it quits . with his bags packed and his civilian clothes back on , johnny is ready to walk off base and catch the next flight home . well sorry , rico suave , but there's no place like home , especially after gigantic alien insects have destroyed it . that's right , the planet is being attacked by a colony of arachnid-like alien beings that a can of raid just isn't going to destroy . with a sudden change of heart ( and clothes ) , rico is back in the game , following his fellow starship troopers off to fight a mean group of daddy long legs . what starship troopers really is , is a spoof of all that it even remotely touches on - the soap opera like love affairs of high school , the love for sci-fi and thirst for gore shared by this same age group , etc . nothing is taken seriously . it's almost as much a satire on young adults as clueless , but with its sly and futuristic approach , it's not as recognizably so . it's a spoof so subtle that many won't recognize the spoofery . if you deem this as sci-fi/action , you're wrong . it's sci-fi/action/comedy , with the comedy being on the level of such cult favorites as evil dead 2 . starship troopers just may be on the road to cult status as well . gore is a factor heavily brought up in reviews of this film , but the gore , too , is meant to be cheesy . yes , it's graphic , but it's also brutally phony , and that's what makes it <POS> such great fun to watch </POS> . not since the old " mr . bill " skits on " saturday night live " has torture and mutilation been such a joy to watch . <POS> people were laughing out loud </POS> every time a body was severed in half or a head was viciously decapitated . perhaps it brings back fond memories of the severities we inflicted upon our sisters' barbie dolls as young children . with the actors resembling ken and barbie so closely , it's a good chance this is the case , whether we're fully aware of it or not . starship troopers has it's slow parts , but it's truly an alternative to your typical sci-fi/action flick or lame juvenile comedy . aside from the intentionally cheesy gore , <POS> the special effects are quite astounding </POS> . when the spaceship passes a meteor , it's <POS> quite an awesome spectacle , visually crisp and captivating </POS> . if you're looking for brainless fun , this is the epitome of your search . <POS> a beautiful cast </POS> , <POS> awesome special effects </POS> , fast-paced action , campy acting , and a whole lot of gore . this is <POS> brainless heaven </POS> . just remember not to think .
