Re: The dreaded Jar Jar controversy...

Posted by ROB T. from 162.10.138.28 on June 01, 1999 at 03:24:26:

In Reply to: To Sallah and everyone who hates Jar Jar posted by Mack on May 30, 1999 at 22:54:02:

ROB T. here,
I couldn't disagree more about Jar Jar. I'm certainly not the type to play with lightsabers and dress in Jedi robes but I found Jar Jar to be completely annoying. Here's why.
The "Star Wars" films have all had elements of humor and comic relief characters but the laughs they generated flowed out of the situation. George's weak script for "Phantom Menace" has all the laughs shoe horned in and the fit is poor. Jar Jar is a good name for this character because his presence is jarring and pulls you right out of the picture.
Forget about the fact that the CGI effects make Jar Jar look like he's been drawn on the film afterward and never once could I imagine that a real being was standing in the scene next to Liam Neeson or Ewan Macgregor. His jokes came off as made-up and not something that an alien sentient being would say (especially since he spoke mostly in American B-movie cliches)
To use the Indy films as an illustration. In "Raiders" when Indy and Marion are in the Well of Souls and Marion mistakes INdy's whip for a snake and burns Indy's thigh. This is funny and doesn't take away from the danger of the situation. Imagine if Indy had dropped into the Well and was face-to-face with the cobra and suddenly a CGI arm grew out of the cobra and flipped Indy the middle finger. It would be funny and the audience would laugh but from that moment on the movie would feel fake.
Every time Jar Jar shows up in "Phantom" (and he's practically the star of the movie) his presence is like a CGI arm on a cobra.
The "so called" humor in "Phantom" is funny in the same way that the Tele Tubbies are funny and this is a big mistake for George. He tried too hard to make laughs for the kiddies because most of the "Star Wars" fans were kids in '77. But now we're grown up and we can still laugh at Artoo and Threepio.
Twenty years from now all those Tele Tubbies fans are not gonna pull out their old Tele Tubby videos and laugh at them. In the same way no one is gonna view "Phantom Menace" and still laugh at Jar Jar after seeing him do the same lame schtick forty times. You'll see, in a year you'll wonder how you ever thought Jar Jar was funny.

Incidentally, Mack, did you get my message responding to your question about why people are disappointed in "Phantom Menace?"

And I know that there are a few people on this forum who go ape sh*t when there's a post about "Star Wars" on this forum. Take heart, the "Star Wars" posts are starting to thin out and will probably disappear in a month or so. In the meantime just chill out.

Follow Ups:

Couldn't agree with you more ROB T Brett (Yasim) Lambert 06:53:17 6/01/99 (0)

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: ROB T. here,
: I couldn't disagree more about Jar Jar. I'm certainly not the type to play with lightsabers and dress in Jedi robes but I found Jar Jar to be completely annoying. Here's why. 
: The "Star Wars" films have all had elements of humor and comic relief characters but the laughs they generated flowed out of the situation. George's weak script for "Phantom Menace" has all the laughs shoe horned in and the fit is poor. Jar Jar is a good name for this character because his presence is jarring and pulls you right out of the picture.
: Forget about the fact that the CGI effects make Jar Jar look like he's been drawn on the film afterward and never once could I imagine that a real being was standing in the scene next to Liam Neeson or Ewan Macgregor. His jokes came off as made-up and not something that an alien sentient being would say (especially since he spoke mostly in American B-movie cliches)
: To use the Indy films as an illustration. In "Raiders" when Indy and Marion are in the Well of Souls and Marion mistakes INdy's whip for a snake and burns Indy's thigh. This is funny and doesn't take away from the danger of the situation. Imagine if Indy had dropped into the Well and was face-to-face with the cobra and suddenly a CGI arm grew out of the cobra and flipped Indy the middle finger. It would be funny and the audience would laugh but from that moment on the movie would feel fake.
: Every time Jar Jar shows up in "Phantom" (and he's practically the star of the movie) his presence is like a CGI arm on a cobra.         
: The "so called" humor in "Phantom" is funny in the same way that the Tele Tubbies are funny and this is a big mistake for George. He tried too hard to make laughs for the kiddies because most of the "Star Wars" fans were kids in '77. But now we're grown up and we can still laugh at Artoo and Threepio.
: Twenty years from now all those Tele Tubbies fans are not gonna pull out their old Tele Tubby videos and laugh at them. In the same way no one is gonna view "Phantom Menace" and still laugh at Jar Jar after seeing him do the same lame schtick forty times. You'll see, in a year you'll wonder how you ever thought Jar Jar was funny.

: Incidentally, Mack, did you get my message responding to your question about why people are disappointed in "Phantom Menace?"

: And I know that there are a few people on this forum who go ape sh*t when there's a post about "Star Wars" on this forum. Take heart, the "Star Wars" posts are starting to thin out and will probably disappear in a month or so. In the meantime just chill out.

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