Monday, December 28, 2015

Star Wars For Dummies


So, that Christmas thing happened, and I spent the entire day feeling grateful that I had all 6 kids home for a bit, all under one roof, because I know that won't keep happening forever. We had some neighbors and their girls (Anna and David's age) over, so the "old people" ended up being relegated to the kids table - that way, all the young adults and the younger siblings could sit together.

You know, no one ever warned me that would happen.

To make things even better, it was a good present year: Larry didn't try giving me car-cleaning tools for Christmas, I had plenty of excellent ideas for his presents, and the kids were also relatively easy to shop for. I mean, helloooo, gift cards! And books, of course...what else can you give to a self-supporting young adult, anyway?

Then, last night, FINALLY, we went to see Star Wars. Larry and the boys had already seen it, but I was waiting until I could use my discount Costco movie tickets to take the girls. Uncle Matt and his girlfriend were visiting, so we invited them to join us.

"Do you think I will understand what's going on?" asked Uncle Matt. "I never saw any of the Star Wars films."

There was a stunned silence after he uttered these words. Seriously, we all just stopped talking and stared at him, this mythical creature apparently roused from a 40-year sleep. Never seen Star Wars? How could anyone under 60 not have viewed ANY of those movies?

Look, I don't even LIKE the original Star Wars films, but I've seen them. (Sorry, folks, lousy acting, lousy script, lousy pacing - I won't budge on that.) So, after picking our jaws up from the floor, we hustled Uncle Matt downstairs to watch The Empire Strikes Back, just to give him some sort of exposure to the concept.

You can't just go into this unprepared....

Anywhoo, the next night we all went to see the new film. True, I might not like Star Wars, but I had to be a part of this cultural moment.  Also? I like movie theater popcorn. The theater, after over a week of several showings a day, was still packed. Of course I got the person with large hair sitting in front of me (being short is no joke, even with stadium seating). I settled in, preparing myself for 2 hours or so of hackneyed themes, bad acting, and wince-inducing lines.

I know - I'm fun. Hire me for parties!

Readers, that movie was FANTASTIC. WONDERFUL. STUPENDOUS. I fell in love with the new main characters. I was DEVASTATED when...well, you know, that thing...happened.

Best yet, now I could go home and enjoy that whole Emo Kylo Ren thing happening over at Twitter.

So, yeah, it was a good week.  And now I am girding myself for hosting our neighborhood New Year's party. If we're lucky, Larry and I won't have any arguments involving vomit cheese balls and gross crackers. But I'm not counting on it...




[Star Wars poster image: StarWars.com]

8 comments:

  1. Even *I* have seen the original Star Wars....although, I DID pretty much sleep through it. Your recommendation makes me want to go buy tickets...but seeing as how I don't remember anything from the original other than the names (Han, Leia, R2-D2 and CP3O) I don't think I'd be able to keep up.

    Glad you enjoyed it though. Have fun with the New Year's party!

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  2. Uncle Matt and I must've been living under the same rock. I've never seen the movies either.

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    1. Don't bother, just go to this one. It can stand alone.

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  3. We saw it Saturday and I was just over the moon with it. Imagine someone that age never seeing it! Wow. Was he from Montana?
    Glad you enjoyed your holiday--even at the kid table.

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  4. I have had several friends lately who have come out of the closet and admitted to never seeing any Star Wars movies. I think they are proud of this fact. I'm simply agog.
    I'm waiting to see the movie when the theaters aren't so packed. All 5 of the males in my immediate family went on Saturday, while my DIL and I stayed home with the newborn boy. I live in fear of someone bumping my leg/ankle/foot, and crowds are notoriously dangerous for such activities.
    Adults and children with nontraditional seating -- the tables have turned!

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  5. We went to see the movie (including my 83-year-old Mom - rather a feat getting her into the crowded movie theater) on Saturday. I enjoyed it, although I think the Star Wars movies that I have seen (releases 1, 2, and 3 which I think means Episodes 4, 5, and 6 - what a screwy system) are just basically cowboy movies. At least this one had a cowgirl in it. After it was over we had a big discussion about which character was related to which character(s) from the previous movies.

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  6. Glad you had a good Christmas. When some of the kids are moved out, it's hard to gather them all together, even for holidays. I liked the movie too, although my husband complained it was too Disney-fied with the female heroine. Disney does like girl power. Happy New Year.

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  7. We went to see the original Star Wars when they rereleased it. I fell asleep. I've never made it through a full one.

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