Growing up, I became obsessed with “Star Wars”. I watched all the Star Wars content I could get my hands on and I loved every minute of it. I was a super nerd. I have since settled down a bit (although I am sure my girlfriend would disagree on that front), I still love me some Star Wars. I watched all of the original trilogy at the time and thought I had watched all there was to offer on the Star Wars front. Then I heard whispers of a Holiday Special. Being a kid growing up in the 1990s, I didn’t have the internet to check. There was no IMDb, no Wikipedia, all we had were whispers in the wind. (I know we had books too, but even libraries are limited in their content. So my search for “The Star Wars Holiday Special” began.
The film is now easily accessible on sites like YouTube but for awhile, the only way to view it was bootleg VHS tapes and DVD. I remember buying a bootleg VHS copy of the movie and being very excited only to discover the poor quality of the VHS tape. Kids today will never understand how bad the VHS tape quality could be.
“The Star Wars Holiday Special” has a reputation for being notoriously bad. George Lucas hated the film and it has never been officially released. You know it has to be on another level bad when George Lucas disowns it. It should be noted that this special is noteworthy for being the first “sequel/spin-off” to the original “Star Wars” predating “The Empire Strikes Back”. It also marked the debut of fan favorite character Boba Fett. He appeared in an animated short within the special.
The film focuses on Chewbecca’s family. Chewbecca has a wife (Malla), son (Lumpy), and father (Itchy) who still live on the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk. Life Day is fast approaching so Han Solo and Chewbecca rush Chewie back home to reunite with his family and celebrate the holiday. The film is excessively abstract and presents itself in a variety show format. Surprisingly, almost all of the original cast makes an appearance in this special. Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, and James Earl Jones all reprise their roles.
The film turned out to be as terrible as the whispers in the wind claimed it was. First of all, most of the film focuses on Chewbecca’s family. Who ever thought that a film with little dialogue and mainly howls was a good idea must have been a complete nut. There is also a strange, borderline disgusting segment where Itchy gets very excited watching Diahann Carroll and it is every bit as unpleasant as it sounds. New stars to the franchise include comedians Harvey Korman, Art Carney, and Bea Arthur all not fitting in well with their surroundings. Did I mention Bea Arthur and Carrie Fisher sing in this film? Yep, I guess the Life Day celebration consists of Carrie Fisher singing a word version of the iconic “Star Wars” theme. It was that weird.
The film turned out to be as terrible as the whispers in the wind claimed it was. First of all, most of the film focuses on Chewbecca’s family. Who ever thought that a film with little dialogue and mainly howls was a good idea must have been a complete nut. There is also a strange, borderline disgusting segment where Itchy gets very excited watching Diahann Carroll and it is every bit as unpleasant as it sounds. New stars to the franchise include comedians Harvey Korman, Art Carney, and Bea Arthur all not fitting in well with their surroundings. Did I mention Bea Arthur and Carrie Fisher sing in this film? Yep, I guess the Life Day celebration consists of Carrie Fisher singing a word version of the iconic “Star Wars” theme. It was that weird.
The film is an interesting watch for a hardcore Star Wars fan but even they might not be able to stomach this film. It’s just a good thing “The Empire Strikes Back” went in a very different direction.
Grade: F
Grade: F
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