Hola all. Massawyrm here.

It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised. As much as I wanted this movie to be great, there was a nagging fear from the mixed reviews out of Celebration IV tinged with the overall general fear of another fetish movie. I mean, I'm all about loving Star Wars, but come on – making a film all about another movie? What's the point of that?

Well, as it turns out, the point is that this movie is only kind of about Star Wars. The title of this movie isn't just about the release date of a movie. It's about a day of reckoning for Patrick Read Johnson, a very real day in his life after which nothing was ever the same. As has been said, both in the positive and to its detriment, very little of this movie has anything to do directly with Star Wars. It's not a series of Star Wars riffs and references; quite the contrary, it is actually mostly about a world before Star Wars. A world I was both very familiar and completely unfamiliar with.

You see, I have the very odd distinction of having a scene from Star Wars be my very first memory. Whether I was two or three I'm unsure. What I am sure of is being in that movie theatre, staring up at Luke Skywalker looking out over the deserts of Tatooine and its two setting suns, thinking "Hey! Why does he get two?" And while it may seem convenient for a critic to claim this as their first memory, the truth is that there is a very real reason I chose to do this for a living. I can track the events of my entire life through release dates and film experiences. From where I lived at what ages (I was a military BRAT) by what theatre I saw The Secret of NIMH in, to my first (and last) date with a cheerleader, taking her to a double feature of Batman and License to Kill, to the moment I realized that people actually do THIS for a living while reading a Return of the Living Dead part 2 review in the local paper. Hell, I began to fall in love with my wife when I discovered she'd seen Pulp Fiction in a theatre more times than I had (it was still in theatres at the time) and when she got a number of my movie reference jokes. Our first date was The Crow, our second Reservoir Dogs. Both on VHS.

The point is, 5-25-77 is a movie entirely about what it was like to be a film lover in a world BEFORE there was a Star Wars. And while I've seen all the movies this film is alluding to (I'm betting pretty much anyone reading this has seen at least most of them), I'd never seen them in context. I mean, the little robots from Silent Running were cool and all – but they were no R2 unit. Of course, that they were pre-SW meant nothing to me as a child. This is the story of someone they did mean something to.

It is the true story about one of the first people to ever see Star Wars (in its unfinished form) and what that experience did to his movie loving life. And ultimately it is a challenge, the gauntlet being thrown down for a young filmmaker, forcing him to decide between his beckoning dream and the comfort and love to be found in his small town. For Patrick Read Johnson, 5-25-77 is a date looming on the horizon on which he knows he'll be forced to choose between his home and his dream. And that is exactly why this film works.

Rather than being another fetish film or comical parody of the easily sniped members of movie fandom, it is a very real, down to earth story about dreams and being fearful of taking that first step. It is an incredibly sweet coming of age story filled with the entirely true adventures of someone who got an experience that is pretty hard to believe and was then left to try to speak about it to a town that didn't yet speak the language. But you don't need to be a Star Wars fan or hell, even a movie nut, to love this. It's a film about dreams. And every one of us have had, or will one day have, that moment in which you are forced to choose between the life you want and the life you have. This film speaks to that.

Now what we saw was an early cut and still had some unfinished effects and was what Patrick himself referred to as "Directors Cut" in length. While I am myself unsure what's going to go (as it's all good) it needs to be quickened just a bit. Aside from that, there's little to do. I absolutely LOVE this film. It hit me square in the gut and has weighed heavy on my mind for days. It's invigorated me, reinspired me, and set me working overtime during a week where I could easily coast. It's rare that a movie really touches you and reminds you what you're doing this all for – and movies like that are the one's you cherish.

This is a film for film lovers. This is a film for filmmakers. This is a film for anyone who loves a really strong coming of age film. We had this pegged way wrong from early out. This isn't a film targeted at Star wars fans. Frankly, I completely understand the mixed reaction it received at Celebration IV. This wasn't a movie intended for them as a demographic. It is simply about how that one movie changed one mans life. That people still dress up as characters from that movie is immaterial. It hit me hard and it brought my wife to tears. I can't say much better than that. Highly recommended for anyone that simply LOVES film, wants to make them, digs teen or coming of age drama/comedies. Not recommended for anyone hoping for a laugh-a-minute reference fest. While it has its moments, and is quite funny, it's not a goof on films. It's a love letter to them.

Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.

Massawyrm

Yub Nub, eee chop yuub nub.