Josh Reviews The Naboo Movie

I’ll be back here soon with my detailed thoughts on The Acolyte, the latest Star Wars TV show, which just wrapped up this week.  I also still have to finish and post my review of The Bad Batch season three.  But the Star Wars thing I’m most excited to tell you all about right now is The Naboo Movie.  It’s a live-reading of George Lucas’ script for Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and it is glorious.

Organized and hosted by the folks behind Star Wars Minute and the George Lucas Talk Show — Alex Robinson, Pete the Retailer, and Connor Ratliff — The Naboo Movie was a live staged reading held back in May, featuring an array of comedians.  Luckily, they recorded it, and it’s on YouTube.  You can watch it right now!!

There’s a lot of love for Star Wars on display here, and also a joyful willingness to poke a lot of fun at the strange, hokey script for The Phantom Menace.  I thought the tone was perfect, and I was howling with laughter repeatedly throughout.

I knew I was going to love this just a few minutes in, when Matt Gourley — who I knew from the wonderful podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend — stepped up to play the Nemoidian Nute Gunray.  The Nemoidians, of course, are aliens who are depicted with an awful, racist Japanese stereotype voice.  How was this going to be handled??  I was excited to see — but I never ever would have expected the brilliant choice Mr. Gourley made, to play Nute as, well, as Truman Capote!  I was floored by that choice.  It was so funny!!  Mr. Gourley as Nute Gunray was the star of this show for me.  (There are a LOT of incredible comedic actors on this show, but Mr. Gourley crushed it!!  He was also amazing playing both Watto and Boss Nast, doing drop-dead perfect impersonations of both characters!!)

My second favorite performer was Eric Bauza, who plays Jar-Jar Binks.  I wouldn’t dream of spoiling the amazing choice Mr. Bauza makes about how to play Jar-Jar; you have to experience it for yourself.  I’ll just say it’s brilliant and hilariously funny.  I can’t believe I’m saying this about Jar-Jar Binks, but I loved every second this version of Jar-Jar was on screen!!  That’s how incredible Mr. Bauza is!!

Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep) is great fun with his droll depiction of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jin, and Vic Michaelis is a perfect foil for him with her spunky, sarcastic version of Obi-Wan.

I’ve loved Tawny Newsome’s voice work as Mariner on Star Trek: Lower Decks, and she is tremendous playing Padme/Queen Amidala.  She modulates her “too cool for school” vibe just right to be compelling and very funny as she brings life to the, well, let’s say stilted dialogue Mr. Lucas gave to this character.  She’s also hilarious in how she plays Padme’s, er, romance? with the ten-year old Anakin Skywalker, played spectacularly by Haley Joel Osment.  (Mr. Osment, of course, became famous as a kid in The Sixth Sense.  In recent years he’s displayed great comedic chops in projects such as Silicon Valley and The Spoils of Babylon.)  Mr. Osment is a riot here with his spirited version of young Annie.  He’s amazing.

There are lots of other terrific performers involved.  I loved seeing Laraine Newman (from the original cast of SNL), and (speaking of SNL), Bobby Moynihan is a hoot playing both Darth Maul and Yoda.

If you’re a Star Wars fan, go watch this right now!! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  Now I’ m hoping someday they’ll reunite this cast to do a live reading of Episode II: Attack of the Clones!

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