There are many reasons to look back on the eighties with fondness, and among those would be the Star Wars phenomenon and John Hughes’ classic movies that embodied the experiences of teenagers and their rites of passage as they hurtle towards adulthood. With that in mind, it begs the question why a mash-up of these two sub-cultures from nearly thirty years ago has never been thought of before, though I’m inclined to think that it is simply a matter of good things coming to those who wait.
Along with his fellow writers Steven J. Koistinen Jr. and Justin Yates, director J.C. Reifenberg has delivered the goods in Hughes the Force, which takes the premise of Weird Science combined with every fanboy’s fantasy of Princess Leia in her slave girl outfit, to produce an entertaining and highly amusing short movie that is packed to the gills with references from that galaxy, far, far, away.
Opening with the familiar scrolling-text, the scene is set for our two intrepid teen nerds, Simon and Henry, who, seemingly living in a time before geek was chic, regularly face the dual intimidation of trying to engage in conversation with those of a female persuasion and avoiding abject humiliation by jocks, with the latter usually in response to the former. When presented with an opportunity to accomplish both, our dynamic duo resort to the unthinkable by opening a vintage-style carded POTF2-era Princess Leia and through the power of the Mac, create their perfect woman, at which point, further hilarity ensues.
As you would expect, the movie is littered with numerous Star Wars and Hughes-esque references, be it movie dialogue, musical themes, montages or merchandise and collectibles. Simon and Henry both sport some rather natty Star Wars t-shirts (one featuring Aurebesh and another, a colourful Admiral Ackbar, spring to mind), with several items from the Her Universe collection also on show. Dialogue and scenes from both genres are used at times practically verbatim, and at others as a basis for some clever-wordplay and/or pastiche.
One of the real pluses for Hughes the Force is the array of celebrity cameos that appear throughout, from the likes of Kevin Smith, Catherine Taber and James Arnold Taylor (the latter two both proving that they are equally talented when it comes to live-action, as they are with voice acting), to less obvious contributions from Tom Kane, Jimmy Mac, and Matt Sloan, all names known to fans of Star Wars. Well, everyone but Kevin Smith perhaps!
There are some great jokes sprinkled throughout the movie, with two of may favourites not even coming from the source material, with chief-jock Chaz highlighting his ignorance of all things geek and Henry mimicking a certain time-traveller’s father to a tee! And whether or not it was in direct response to the furore that surrounded the inclusion of Vader shouting “Nooooo” in the blu-ray release of Return of the Jedi, Simon’s equally pained scream of dismay as Henry rips slave Leia from her card, causes several members of the general public (J.C. amongst them) to be stopped in their tracks, a scene similar to the reaction of several Bespin inhabitants on hearing Lando Calrission’s call to evacuate the city.
Of the two genres that inspired Hughes the Force, if you love only Star Wars, or if John Hughes’ movies are your sole passion, I’ve no doubt that you will still get a real kick out of this movie. And as an added bonus to Star Wars fans, at least depending on your point of view, it even caters for Expanded Universe devotees!
Whilst Hughes the Force has yet to see widespread release, I would encourage you to seek out a copy; you will not be disappointed.