A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE
Starring: Kevin Smith, Seth Green ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Gilbert Gottfried, Taran Killam, Paul Scheer, and Donny Osmond
Directors: Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak
This film has been reviewed by Nick and Paige as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival.
NICK
The almost mythic Star Wars Holiday Special has long been discussed as the worst piece of Star Wars content ever created. Unfortunately, this documentary shows there really isn’t much more to say beyond that. Notable names such as Kevin Smith, Seth Green, the late Gilbert Gottfried, and more are interviewed, but they’re almost there to mask the lack of story there is to tell. It was a variety special featuring the original cast doing musical numbers, numerous Golden Age TV guest stars, and a whole bunch of Wookies (some doing questionable things). No big conspiracy here, just a bad decision everyone involved wishes never happened.
PAIGE
Even though A Disturbance in the Force tries to dive further into the reasons why the Star Wars Holiday Special was created and why it was such a hot mess of a disaster without saying anything new, this documentary is actually more of a celebration of the pop culture phenomenon through interviews and archival footage. This hilarious and entertaining doc caters to die-hard Star Wars fans. While it feels like a time capsule for this fandom, it’s an intriguing study on this bizarre case that occurred in entertainment.