“Laugh it up, Fuzzball…”
I take Star Wars very seriously.
At this point in our journey together, that’s pretty evident, and I know I’m not alone. Star Wars is something many of us take to heart. It’s designed to entertain on the surface, but strike chords deep within you. The farther you crawl into the world, the more you break down every moment, scene, and frame, the stronger the passion becomes. This is very serious business. That doesn’t mean, though, that there isn’t a place at the table for poking some fun at the franchise, teasing it, laughing at it, and laughing with it. That’s a fun part of being a Star Wars fan and actually fosters a stronger, shared connection to it. We’re all in on the joke…
Back in high school, which for me was around the time Timothy Zahn was bringing Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, and hot chocolate to the expanded Star Wars universe, I met one of my best friends to this day. A tall, lanky Canadian kid named Joel. Forced together by destiny to sit next to each other in Mr. Harris’ math class, we soon found that we shared a love of wonderfully silly things like professional wrestling, Robotech, baseball cards, and, of course, Star Wars. Like most fans, particularly, let’s face it, young immature boys, we danced around each other first, peacocking with our knowledge of Star Wars facts as the preening feathers of our egos. Then we both stumbled onto our love of Hardware Wars.
That was the moment we became best friends.
Parodies and jokes about Star Wars began almost as soon as A New Hope flickered onto the screens of the world on May 25, 1977. Hardware Wars was the first to step into the spotlight. Written and directed by Ernie Fosselius and co-produced by (and starring) eventual award-winning music producer Scott Matthews, the thirteen-minute film was both a silly parody and heartful love letter to the space movie that was sweeping over the world. Forget my knowledge of obscure Imperial officers or Joel’s ability to quote Luke Skywalker at a moment’s notice, the fact that we both could talk about the adventures of Fluke Starbucker, Ham Salad, and Princess Anne-Droid and quote Red-Eye Knight Augie “Ben” Doggie without missing a beat brought us closer together as fans and friends. (This is also why the First Order laundry room scene in The Last Jedi will always have a special place in my heart. The spaceship-like shot of the iron is proof that Rian Johnson can quote Ham Salad like us and George Lucas, who called Hardware Wars his favorite Star Wars parody in a 1999 interview on the UK The Big Breakfast.)
Following Hardware Wars, an entire legion of great parodies emerged to poke fun at Star Wars, including Kevin Rubio’s viral sensation Troops, a play-it-straight parody of Star Wars and the TV show Cops, insightful digs and silly laughs from the crews at Robot Chicken and Family Guy, and, of course, perhaps the most legendary one of all, Mel Brook’s Space Balls. To some growing up, saying “Use the Schwartz” is just as meaningful as “Use the Force.”
In each of these and all the parodies, sketches, and jokes produced, written, and made, one thing shines through: this is all coming from a point of love. Star Wars is emotionally stirring and uses deep themes to pull us in, so we can find the great meanings behind the characters, action, and stories we love.
Star Wars is also silly.
Chewbacca is a walking, fighting, growling seven-foot version of George Lucas’ real-life dog. The Millennium Falcon is almost eaten by a gargantuan space slug called an Exogorth. Yak Face is…a yak. Even the name Luke Skywalker is silly. And all that is just in the hallowed ground of the original trilogy. But it’s all part of this wonderful tapestry of a franchise that continues to have a profound effect on all those that let it into their heart. To love Star Wars is to also laugh at Star Wars. So, laugh it up, Fuzzball.
May the Schwartz be with you…