The Star Wars Holiday Special is the stuff legends are made of. Its not so much a movie as it was a 2 hour TV special made one year after the original Star Wars movie, in 1978. George Lucas was not involved with the production, but he sure did cash the check.
It is likely you have never watched this film. And with good reason. George Lucas, and most viewers that watched the TV broadcast, hated the film. Lucas hated it so much that he had it locked away in the Lucas Films archives, never to be seen again. To this day, the film has only aired once on television and it has not been officially released in any way by Lucas Films.
Although the studios tried to wipe this film from existence, the Star Wars Holiday Special is alive and kicking. Fans of Weird Al’s music video, White & Nerdy, will remember a scene where Weird Al is buying a boot-legged copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special. Some viewers of the original broadcast recorded the show on VHS or Betamax tapes. These tapes made their way to Star Wars conventions and have traveled the circuit.
The film is based around a variety show style where there is various performances and skits stitched together loosely. The main story has Chewbacca trying to return to his wife and son for a wookie holiday, Life Day. Chewy and Han Solo run into an Empire blockade of the area and have to work their way around. The cast of the original Star Wars movie make cameos, including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), and James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader).
Being produced in the late 1970s, the film cannot stand the test of time. The singing and dancing in the film can best be described as annoying. Setting the film’s main stage as the wookie family was a big mistake, since, you know, wookies can’t speak English; they just moan and grunt. The time-filler skits are not entertaining and only serve to … fill time. There is an animated part that runs about 15 minutes. This animation introduces the world to bounty hunter Boba Fett, although Fett was portrayed as a wuss.
This film probably deserves a lower score, but I gave it some bonus points due to the underground cult status. This film is not worth watching for the lack of plot, dismal performances, and annoying music. But this film IS worth watching just so you can honestly say I watched this piece of shit, which makes me cooler than you.
Score: D-