Oh my Harry Met Sally. This is pure Star Wars gold. On a recent episode of his show, Jimmy Kimmel used footage from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens to create a brand spankin' new trailer. The twist: The Space Opera is now a romantic comedy. I can’t make this stuff up. Check out the Star Wars Rom-Com and make sure you watch without any liquid in your mouth. That’s right, this is your spit-take warning.
I mean, come on. In an apparent marketing ploy to get more female viewership for the upcoming The Force Awakens, Kimmel asserts that a fictional team at Disney decided to transform the film into a rom-com. Whatever will George Lucas think?
As I’m sure you can tell, this segment really tickled me. It’s had so many nuanced moments and insider fan jokes that I was thoroughly pleased throughout. We start off with background information about the lead character, Rey, and her romantic difficulties. Poking fun at the genre’s common tropes, we see that Rey’s life is disappointing due to her lack of love. But with so little actual footage from the upcoming film released, she only gets one line in the trailer, “I’m no one,” (said immediately after the deliciously cheesy narrator says this exact statement).
The faux- trailer continues to poke fun at the ridiculousness of romantic comedies as a whole, showing how formulaic the genre is, and how easily one can reformat any movie to fit the mold. Plus, seeing the action sequences from The Force Awakens set to some deliciously moody Coldplay is extremely satisfying. Plus we’re shown the other man who can ruin the new couple, none other than Han Solo himself. And, to really set me into a fit of laughter, the upcoming installment to the franchise is given a new title “The Fault in Our Star...Wars”
With so much Star Wars material basically everywhere, it’s getting harder for me to be interested, when the franchise is mentioned. With the exception of new footage or news, I could honestly do without most of the advertisements that show up every few minutes on television. I don’t want the Star Wars bracelets, car ads, or K-Mart commercials. But I want to laugh, and Kimmel succeeded in doing just that.
Additionally, poking fun at how little materials us fans have been able to see made me feel like Jimmy Kimmel gets it. I want more footage! And once I get more footage, I want a more expanded version of this trailer. I’ve even brainstormed some new titles: How To Lose A Droid In 10 Days, 500 Days Of Jar-Jar, and Breakfast at Palpatine’s. You’re welcome, Jimmy.
