Wow. Up until I saw this holiday special, I thought that perhaps the worst TV shows of the 1970s were the "Brady Bunch Hour" or perhaps "Pink Lady and Jeff", but "The Star Wars Holiday Special" is at least as bad...possibly worse. The reason I say worse is that frankly, the actors from the Brady Bunch show weren't super talented and sticking them in the stupid song and dance format just made this more apparent---ditto with the Pink Lady debacle. However, given the amazingly good will of practically every person in America towards the Star Wars franchise and such great characters, the fact it came off so badly is amazing and apparent proof that George Lucas was not above whoring out his reputation (his later Episodes I, II, III and Jar-Jar further proved this). Plus, think about it...with all the characters from the original movie, which one would you use as THE anchor for the special?! What sane person would pick Chewbacca?!? Sure, he was fine in small scenes in the films, but to have his "adorable" family hog up most of the special was amazing--and all the worse because all they could do was make those awful Wookie noises again and again!! The only thing more annoying would have been a family consisting of nothing but Yoko Onos!! They bark and growl and try to be cute, but how long can any sane person stand this awful banter?! Even kids would most likely change channels because it is so boring and pointless.
Amazingly, when the action left the Wookie household, things managed to become even worse. It's like you have Ebola and manage to then come up with a worse disease! Is this even possible?!? For a change of pace after 198 hours of Wookie family entertainment, we are subjected to some of the worst guest appearances in history. Art Carney's is only pathetic and uninteresting. Worse were the god-awful Harvey Korman antics--which were clearly the worst of his career. And then, uggh, a bit with Bea Arthur as an owner of an intergalactic cantina!! Make the pain stop!!! But, then it manages to occasionally become even worse!!! The appearances by the REAL Star Wars characters come off as hastily written (at best) and the acting, if you can call it that, seems very, very stiff and....well,....stupid. Han Solo's appearance is more reminiscent of the scene at the end of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK when he's encased in that block of carbonite!! Luke and the annoying robots are passable...but no better. Then, hearing Carrie Fisher at the end is just plain sad, though unlike some reviewers' comments, she did not appear stoned...just not particularly good or inspiring.
There's also a badly animated cartoon thrown in to boot. Boba Fett cult members will salivate because they get to see their god for the first time, but who else cares? After all, sane people are not fixated on this minor character. After all, he BRIEFLY appeared in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and then a bizarre group of folks campaign with the intensity of the Napoleonic Wars to get him into subsequent films. But the rest of us just aren't that impressed...after all, it's just Boba Fett--a minor bit character.
So what did I like about this film. Hmmm.....nothing. If it were short, it would be a sad but curious curio, but at almost two hours it is mind-numbingly bad. The only reason I might recommend you watching it is if you see it with friends who are bad TV/movie fans who might delight in making fun of it. Don't, however, show it to die-hard Star Wars fans....they might commit suicide OR declare that it is the greatest TV show ever and insist you watch it again (ahhhhh, the agony!!).
Amazingly, when the action left the Wookie household, things managed to become even worse. It's like you have Ebola and manage to then come up with a worse disease! Is this even possible?!? For a change of pace after 198 hours of Wookie family entertainment, we are subjected to some of the worst guest appearances in history. Art Carney's is only pathetic and uninteresting. Worse were the god-awful Harvey Korman antics--which were clearly the worst of his career. And then, uggh, a bit with Bea Arthur as an owner of an intergalactic cantina!! Make the pain stop!!! But, then it manages to occasionally become even worse!!! The appearances by the REAL Star Wars characters come off as hastily written (at best) and the acting, if you can call it that, seems very, very stiff and....well,....stupid. Han Solo's appearance is more reminiscent of the scene at the end of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK when he's encased in that block of carbonite!! Luke and the annoying robots are passable...but no better. Then, hearing Carrie Fisher at the end is just plain sad, though unlike some reviewers' comments, she did not appear stoned...just not particularly good or inspiring.
There's also a badly animated cartoon thrown in to boot. Boba Fett cult members will salivate because they get to see their god for the first time, but who else cares? After all, sane people are not fixated on this minor character. After all, he BRIEFLY appeared in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and then a bizarre group of folks campaign with the intensity of the Napoleonic Wars to get him into subsequent films. But the rest of us just aren't that impressed...after all, it's just Boba Fett--a minor bit character.
So what did I like about this film. Hmmm.....nothing. If it were short, it would be a sad but curious curio, but at almost two hours it is mind-numbingly bad. The only reason I might recommend you watching it is if you see it with friends who are bad TV/movie fans who might delight in making fun of it. Don't, however, show it to die-hard Star Wars fans....they might commit suicide OR declare that it is the greatest TV show ever and insist you watch it again (ahhhhh, the agony!!).