Many people may be asking what holiday special? There's a reason that everyone involved has buried this deep in hopes that it will not ever be seen again. However, YouTube has given us the chance to check out The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). I don't normally review many films that are...like this. However, it needs to be done!
After the tremendous success of the original Star Wars film, 20th Century Fox looked to continue it with a made for TV special which had all of the original actors including Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill. I normally like to point out any good parts from a movie to start out, but I simply cannot find anything. Well, the credits had the Star Wars theme song, so there is one thing.
I will attempt to keep this list short. First off, this is 1 hour and 38 minutes of nonsense. The main characters are Chewbacca's wife (Itchy), his dad (Itchy) and son (Lumpy), and yes those are the correct names. Not understanding wookies is okay in the regular theatrical movies but not when it is only wookies for several minutes at a time. No subtitles and sub-par acting keeps you guessing what is going on. There is some weird trippy Cirque Du Soleil toy thing the son watches for way too long. Also, Itchy gets a little too excited with a virtual women singing part, and you wonder if some drugs were slipped to you. The empire is easily fooled and watch a virtual concert from Jefferson Starship as a distraction. During this, the son watches a cartoon starring the current rebels like Luke and Han which makes no sense.
Boba Fett surprising originated here (another good part). Then, the empire watches basically a sitcom in a Tatooine cantina starring Bea Arthur, but it was mandated by the empire for some reason. There is an odd musical number in this scene that gives words to the famous cantina song. Most things do not make any sense.
The makeup was stage makeup style which means pounds per person because of bright lights usually, but this is on TV with controlled lighting. The script is botched. The only holiday-related thing is that it is Life Day for the wookies. This is forgotten during most of the film. I cannot say that any actor gave a good performance. Passable perhaps but not quality. Directing is atrocious. Cinematography is awful. Production is bad. The Chewbacca household looks like a 70's household but on a foreign planet. Turns out they have plastic goods, kitchens, cooking shows that last five minutes, instructional videos that is extremely unfunny and more.
Overall, it is not a passable film. That is without question. One thing I'll say is this. It was an experience. I don't regret watching and would actually recommend it to fans. If you dare to stomach this, please do it with some friends as I did. My movie rating is an F.
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