George Lucas in Love

George Lucas in Love
by Chris LaMont, Joe Nussbaum, Nicholas Goodman, Ryan Schifrin

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Movie Reviews of George Lucas in Love

Movie Review: Wow and Wow Again!
Summary: 5 Stars

The 8-minute short opens with George Lucas, in his last semester at film school, unable to finish his final project, Space Wheat, which begins "Not Long Ago in a Nearby Galaxy." His teacher (a stubby guy who talks like a certain Jedi Master) is no real help, and it isn't until he meets a girl with hair wrapped tightly in donut-buns (a stunning Lisa Jakob, of Independence Day fame) that he finds a muse who encourages the young Lucas to "write what he knows." What he knows is the dozens of Star Wars references surrounding him, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As much an homage as it is a parody, Lucas in Love succeeds where so many others fail. A review of the three other shorts on the DVD - "Evil Hill" (Dr. Evil meets Notting Hill), Film Club (Fight Club in a film school), and Swing Blade (Sling Blade mixed with Swingers) easily demonstrates how this type of experiment can fall flat on its face, turning into a gigglefest by filmmakers and audiences with the kinds of noses that stick up in the air. Thankfully, Lucas in Love is never reduced to this insipid level of "didja get it? didja? aren't we CLEVER!!!) that the other films on the DVD do (and, unfortunately, so many other short films available on the Internet).

The DVD features a commentary track by the director and producer, which reveals little about the film (there isn't much time in an 8 minute session), but there is a "making of" that actually lasts longer than the film itself - perhaps a first in DVD history - that has all the major players and some great behind-the-scenes stuff. The real gem is a pop-up video version of the film that shows you all the Star Wars references - chances are, unless you are the most obsessed fan out there, you missed at least one. There is also a secret code area where you can enter a numeric code you get from mediatrip.com, makers of this DVD. Considering mediatrip.com is now defunct, I don't feel bad saying that the code is 1138 (as in THX-1138, one of Lucas' early films) and that the secret is a short clip of the director showing off his letter from George Lucas congratulating him on the film.

Is it worth the money for this DVD? Up to you. Basically, it's a question of how big of a Star Wars fan you are. You can download the film from several places on the net, and the SciFi channel runs it every now and then, but if you want the interviews and a crystal-clear transfer, then it's probably worth it. Besides, it's great to roll out for your friends and show them without boring them.