Actually, parody might be the wrong word, since they don't so much send up Star Wars as homage it..albeit taking a few swipes with the trademark Family Guy irreverent(and irrelevant) humor. Its pretty much a retelling of whats widely considered to be the best Star Wars movie of the 6, The Empire Strikes Back , with Peter, Lois, Brian, Stewie, Chris, Quagmire and Meg (once again in a tiny role) playing Han, Leia, Chewie, Darth Vader, Luke, C3PO and the giant worm thing that the Millennium Falcon lands in!
The plot is the same as Empire. It begins on Hoth with Luke getting a message from his dead, perverted mentor Obi Wan(in this case, the old dude that stalks Chris in the series) to travel to Dagobah and train as a Jedi under Yoda. Meanwhile Han, Leia and company head to Cloud City to see Lando(Mort Goldman in black face!) where they are ambushed by a very gay Vader and Bobba Fett(The giant chicken). It plays out exactly like the movie, ending on the same cliff hanger.
Seth MacFarlane clearly loves Star Wars and it shows. many parts of this movie are shot for shot animated copies of scenes from Empire, and the animation is amazing, with the space battles looking at times as if they were lifted straight from the live action movie. Like I said already, although technically this is a parody and there are a few digs at some of the sillier plot lines and moments in Empire, I can't help but think this is an excuse for MacFarlane to pay homage to the movies he loves so much..while making us bust a gut at the same time. That leads me to the most important thing of course, is this funny. Well, it is..but not funny enough. In the movies 50 odd minute run time I got 2 real belly laughs and a few snickers and that just doesn't cut it for me, especially since Im a big Family Guy fan and chuckled all the way through Blue Harvest. Some people think Family Guy has simply lost it and this will be further ammunition to support that. That being said, I think the TV show is still almost as funny as ever so maybe these Star Wars specials just aren't the best show case for MacFarlane and co's brand of humor.
Basically, if your a fan then you will enjoy this, just don't expect to get the stomach pains that the show is capable of inflicting! And if you usually hate Family Guy and find it juvenile and pointless then avoid at all costs.
I'll give you an example. This part gave me the biggest laugh...SPOILER ALERT..
Leia(Lois)-"I love you..."
Han(Peter)-"[frick] off"
I guess you would have to see it:)
3/5 Stars
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.