Film Year: 1978
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Musical
Director: Steve Binder
Starring: Harrison Ford, Peter Mayhew, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Bea Arthur, Art Carney, Diahann Carroll, Harvey Korman, Malla, Itchy, and Lumpy
Rifftrax Year: 2007
Riffers: Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett
The Movie
So you've riffed all the Star Wars movies the fanboys hate...where to go from here? Well, ignoring the fact that you've skipped the horrid Clone Wars movie, why you go to the TV productions of course! And what a better way to continue Star Wars riffs than by riffing the most notorious Star Wars production of all, the Holiday Special!
This strange entry into this franchise's legacy features Han Solo trying to get Chewbacca back home to Kashyyyk to visit his family for Life Day. But they are attacked by the Empire and forced into hyperspace. Meanwhile back on Kashyyyk Chewie's family is raided by Storm Troopers searching for Han and Chewie, threatening to ruin the holiday for all. And also CELEBRITY GUEST STARS! (most of them Harvey Korman)
This is normally the point where I make a smartass quip about "Well at least it's better than..." whatever entry in the series I have disdain for. But I just can't. This thing eats. And hurts. I want it to burn. Lucas does too, in a rare admittance from him for being involved in a project that just sucks (the other notable occurrence of this being Howard the Duck).
This thing is so drawn out, so meandering, so lifeless. There are sequences that are just endless that keep going and going and going, supposedly fueled by humorous celebrity cameos that aren't really that funny. If you're just hoping for some new scenes with Luke, Han, Leia and Chewie, be warned that their screentime is fairly reduced in favor of Wookie pantomime, which is a neat idea that never really delivers. The most we get out of the classic characters is an animated segment where they meed up with bounty hunter Boba Fett, which is so cheesily animated and uninteresting that not even that can prop up this dying special.
Is there anything good about it worth mentioning? Well, the Wookie puppeteering is fine I guess. Other than that I can't really say I enjoyed anything about it, and when a bad cinema lover says something is too bad for even them you know this is some next level shit.
This strange entry into this franchise's legacy features Han Solo trying to get Chewbacca back home to Kashyyyk to visit his family for Life Day. But they are attacked by the Empire and forced into hyperspace. Meanwhile back on Kashyyyk Chewie's family is raided by Storm Troopers searching for Han and Chewie, threatening to ruin the holiday for all. And also CELEBRITY GUEST STARS! (most of them Harvey Korman)
This is normally the point where I make a smartass quip about "Well at least it's better than..." whatever entry in the series I have disdain for. But I just can't. This thing eats. And hurts. I want it to burn. Lucas does too, in a rare admittance from him for being involved in a project that just sucks (the other notable occurrence of this being Howard the Duck).
This thing is so drawn out, so meandering, so lifeless. There are sequences that are just endless that keep going and going and going, supposedly fueled by humorous celebrity cameos that aren't really that funny. If you're just hoping for some new scenes with Luke, Han, Leia and Chewie, be warned that their screentime is fairly reduced in favor of Wookie pantomime, which is a neat idea that never really delivers. The most we get out of the classic characters is an animated segment where they meed up with bounty hunter Boba Fett, which is so cheesily animated and uninteresting that not even that can prop up this dying special.
Is there anything good about it worth mentioning? Well, the Wookie puppeteering is fine I guess. Other than that I can't really say I enjoyed anything about it, and when a bad cinema lover says something is too bad for even them you know this is some next level shit.
The Trax
The big elephant in the room about the Star Wars Holiday Special Rifftrax is that this special was never released on DVD or any home video format for that matter. For a while the Rifftrax website had to link to a bootleg DVD to get people to buy this riff, but currently it's up as a VOD. How exactly they're getting away with it is unclear, especially in this age in which the legal-happy Disney owns Lucasfilm. Has the Holiday Special lapsed into public domain? It's quite a strange enigma.
Still let's not question why we have it. Let's just be thankful that we do. While the special in general will test one's endurance factor, I think it's worth braving this thing out for some quality humor.
Mike, Kevin, and Bill have their work cut out for them as the special belabors itself so much and even worse is trying to be funny and failing. In many sequences they find themselves riffing the same material being repeated and beaten into the ground. While the riff grows a bit tired by the end of various scenes, each change up can be refreshing and hilarious. Some of the best riffing occurs during the animated segment, which is the least gag oriented and is trying to tell a story. That's not to say the rest of the riff is bad, quite the contrary, it's just laughter seems more likely to come at the beginning of a scene as opposed to the end.
A wonderful and unexpected boost to the riffing adrenaline in this riff are the vintage commercials featured in this print of the special. These are almost like mini shorts that are diverse and fun enough to keep the comedy flowing every twenty minutes or so. One of the best comes toward the end, where they riff a Star Wars toy commercial, and Kevin inquires about possibly purchasing a Bea Arthur Star Wars action figure.
While the needless bloat of this special weighs heavily on this riff, by the end where I throw my head back and laugh at "Chewbacca's lifeless stare" I can't help but feel this is a must see. The special itself is a slog, but this is worth the time it takes to live through it.
Happy Life Day, everyone!
Mike, Kevin, and Bill have their work cut out for them as the special belabors itself so much and even worse is trying to be funny and failing. In many sequences they find themselves riffing the same material being repeated and beaten into the ground. While the riff grows a bit tired by the end of various scenes, each change up can be refreshing and hilarious. Some of the best riffing occurs during the animated segment, which is the least gag oriented and is trying to tell a story. That's not to say the rest of the riff is bad, quite the contrary, it's just laughter seems more likely to come at the beginning of a scene as opposed to the end.
A wonderful and unexpected boost to the riffing adrenaline in this riff are the vintage commercials featured in this print of the special. These are almost like mini shorts that are diverse and fun enough to keep the comedy flowing every twenty minutes or so. One of the best comes toward the end, where they riff a Star Wars toy commercial, and Kevin inquires about possibly purchasing a Bea Arthur Star Wars action figure.
While the needless bloat of this special weighs heavily on this riff, by the end where I throw my head back and laugh at "Chewbacca's lifeless stare" I can't help but feel this is a must see. The special itself is a slog, but this is worth the time it takes to live through it.
Happy Life Day, everyone!
Classic
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