Family Guy Strikes Back
Something, Something, Something, Dark Side is The Family Guy version of The Empire Strikes Back. Basically they take a good bit of the important parts and retell the story with their own spin on things. Darth Vader (Stewie) is after Luke Skywalker (Chris) and will stop at nothing short of the universe to bring him over to the dark side. As Luke battling for his life and those of his friends, Princess Leia (Lois) finds herself captivated by the handsome Hans Solo (Peter) who is betrayed by a close friend. Joining forces the group head off on a feral and hazardous mission to battle Darth Vader and the Imperial soldiers. Throw in some completely random scenes, and the rest of the Family Guy character, and there u have the Something, Something, Something, Dark Side.
Something Was a Bit Off
I was so excited to see this film! I loved Blue Harvest so much and just couldn’t wait for Something, Something, Something, Dark Side to come out. To my dark displeasure, my long build up enthusiasm was quickly extinguished when I watch the film. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it wasn’t funny or that I disliked it completely, because I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions, but lets just say it wasn’t as original as Blue Harvest. I found myself wanting more from several scenes. There just didn’t appear to have been a radical amount of creativity put into originality. There were just too many old jokes reused and not enough ingenuity. The whole gay jokes were a bit over the top and lost their luster after the first few times. I do realized that Family Guy in general is pretty much over the top and that is what appeals to its fans, but there is a point where the jokes simply become a little played out. I would have to say that is where several scenes of the film found themselves.
There was also too much content that could have been in a regular episode. The Juicy Fruit commercial was quite entertaining but was that really necessary to put in the film? I guess I was expecting more inventive plots and scenes of Star Wars. Then again there were some major scenes of the film that were just a little too odd and a little too much effort placed on trying to be funny. Such as Luke in the cave doing a singing duo with the head? That was a bit silly and not entertaining. I was quite disappointed with Yoda as well. I felt like that specific character should have been played by a better Family Guy character. Yoda was just too popular to be wasted on Chris’s boss. He should have been made into a more memorable character.
On an up, I can’t say I wasn’t entirely entertained. Like I said there were several occasions I found myself laughing out loud or having a chuckle, but I guess I was just expecting more of a bang. I would definitely recommend giving it a go. Its not nearly as entertaining or original as Blue Harvest but it is still worth watching. Family Guy fans will still appreciate the random and inappropriate comedy and Star Wars fans will get a kick out of it as well. As far as buying it goes I cant say that I would personally spend my money on it, but if you’re a die hard fan and own all the rest of the Family Guy seasons it wouldn’t be a terrible thing to own and it wont break the bank. Its very reasonably priced.
As far as quality goes it looks great and is a bit clearer, but nothing drastic. It looked great to begin with as a regular episode. The sound is great and a much better quality. You won’t be disappointed at all with the look and sound of the film.
Special Features
-Audio commentary by Executive Producers Seth MacFarlane, Mark Hentemann and David A. Goodman, Writer Kirker Butler, Director Dominic Polcino and Actor Seth Green
– Family Guy Fact-Ups
–The Dark Side of Poster Art Featurette
-Sneak Peak of Family Guy-Episode VI: We Have a Bad Feeling About This Table Read
-Animatic Scene-to-Scene with Commentary by Dominic Polcino
–Family Guy- Something, Something, Something, Dark Side Table Read Featurette Acts 1&2