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Star Fizzles


Facebook reminded me today that my husband and I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens four years ago, which I noted back then that we were probably the last people in the universe to see it. The recent film we saw slightly sooner, but I’m almost wishing we hadn’t.
For me it was entertaining, although, upon reflection, the story felt more like a plot made up either by committee or by a fan focus group. My husband became obsessed with all the whining chatter, which even caused me to loose him for the remainder of New Year’s Eve after I sadly mentioned a recent article about the film in the Washington Post. It’s not like I needed another reminder that life wasn’t a Meg Ryan rom-com.
While I feel it can be useful dissecting a film and reading thoughtful commentary, ruminating in disappointment just doesn’t do it for me. I’d rather spend my time remembering the films I did enjoy. Of course you can never fully go back to more innocent times, before social media and the Internet.
I was a bit too young to see the original Star Wars movie when it came out, and had nightmares after seeing the commercial with Chewbacca. It was only after getting a comic book version and reading the story that I became hooked. Thankfully for me the film was reissued and I saw it with my mother at the theater. After hearing all the stories of huge lines, we went very early and waited for the showing. I still remember two teenage guys were about to get into a fight when the 20th Century Fox logo and music began (there were no commercials or trailers) and silence hit the theater until the John Williams’s theme song began with that infamous crawl.
I don’t remember being so thrilled or excited by a film since then, but when you’re young everything seems amazing. Maybe that knowledge is what keeps me from getting so upset with the recent films, since for me they’ll never be as good as the first time.

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