Justin's Rating: "That Was From Star Wars" "Yeah, I Know"
Justin's Review: There was a heckuva lot of hoopla when this short came out. Critics raved, it apparently sold more copies on Amazon.com than The Phantom Menace, the stars heralded its forthcoming as the end of the world, etc. My instinct was to skip it because (1) The Phantom Menace was so bad that I declared my home a Star Wars-free zone for a full year, and (2) the title "George Lucas In Love" refers to some Oscar-winning movie that had me bazooka-barfing after my first viewing. So, yes, my therapist has been getting me to face my fears (I think she's just bored with me and hoping I'll leap off a cliff or something), and I finally got a chance to view this flick.

It wasn't that I was laughing so much that the crazy lady downstairs was pounding on my floor again ('cause I was), but that "George Lucas" is a great ode to Star Wars fandom. In much the same way that Free Enterprise was riddled with sly in-jokes to science fiction greats that both dedicated fans and newcomers could appreciate, this short is packed with references to the Holy Trilogy that will have Wookies (from Endor) leaping up and down in gleeful rapture. It's a trip that almost makes Jar-Jar worth it.

The story goes something like this (oh my stars, is Justin actually doing a plot rehash?): George Lucas, an aspiring filmmaker, is back in college hacking away at an unsuccessful sci-fi script. Little does he know that inspiration surrounds him... but it takes the female wiles of a bun-haired girl to get him to see it. When he does, suddenly his friends and associates at college become the infamous characters we've come to know and quote. There's a college professor that can't quite speak proper English... a hallmate who wears black and uses an asthma inhaler... and, well, I can't spoil the rest. Be content to know that it'd be worth your time to get a glimpse of this short, particularly for the great ending.

I suppose it's a tribute to a film series that a movie is made about a rather unphotogenic hefty man who hasn't really done much other than Star Wars. I can only hope that some day a MRFH fan will find another such creator to *cough* flatter through film.

I can play myself, PoolMan can be that poor droid that is tortured to death in Jedi, Kyle can make cool fighter sounds ("bam-bam-fwoooooosh!")... it's a potential franchise!

Didja Notice?
The Howard the Duck reference

The Movie Store!
George Lucas In Love: Movie [VHS]

If you liked this movie, try these:
Star Wars
Free Enterprise