Star Wars Moms made Star Wars cool and here’s why. I feel fairly safe in writing my thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens now. I mean, it made $238 million dollars on opening weekend so if you haven’t seen it by now then go back to the hole you crawled out of and I’ll call you when Star Trek: Beyond comes out.
I love Star Wars, but I’m admittedly not a huge fan. If the originals (episodes 4,5,6) are on TV, I might watch if I have no new episodes of Homeland. But it’s never on TV so I’m never faced with that Sophie’s Choice. What I am a fan of is the collective fandom of Star Wars and sci-fi in general. I love that nerds are having a moment! And Hollywood seems more than willing to take their money and give them what they want: more Star Wars.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 10: Harrison Ford attends the Star Wars: The Force Awakens fan event at Sydney Opera House on December 10, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios)
I saw this movie while sitting next to another mom who is a pretty big fan of the franchise. Honestly, her excitement was contagious as was everyone else’s around me and that’s including our husbands. The whole theater was buzzing. We saw it on the Thursday before it opened nationwide so there were hardcore fans in the room. And I started wondering, how many people here are moms?
I know a lot of dads were in the theater. The dad bods can’t be missed. But can moms be into Star Wars? Or sci-fi? I know I am but are there others like me? Somewhere, out there? I feel a new TV show plot coming on…”Mom Files: The search for nerds with newborns.”
Sometimes things get labeled as “uncool” when moms start liking it. Like dating sites. Or Facebook. Or the Macarena. Totes understandable. But if you take something that is already considered to be nerdy or uncool by some, like science fiction, and add the uncool mom fandom factor to it, does that cancel out the uncool and make it…cool? I’m going out on a limb here and say YES! Moms are making Star Wars cool. Not J.J. Abrams or Disney. Or an older, gentler Han Solo. It’s the moms! I didn’t even have to be a Jedi to figure that out. All of the moms have joined their collective fandom together to create a force to be reckoned with. So basically, while watching the movie I came to 3 conclusions: 1. Disney should give every mom in the world a cut of TFA. 2. Popcorn with extra butter is the ONLY way to eat popcorn. 3. I am most definitely a cool mom who loves Star Wars.
Oh yeah, my review! I thought SW:TFA was a fun, family friendly movie which captured the same childlike energy and joy we all loved in A New Hope. A spot-on extension of the films. The actors nailed the cheeky humor of the original, and then some. I loved that it didn’t seem to take itself too seriously, but just serious enough that you’re rooting for the good guys yet don’t hate the bad guy. That’s one thing about the Star Wars franchise. No one ever really hates the bad guy. Vader in particular is just so cool, in all black, with a deep voice that’s more books on tape than evil death alien. In this movie we are rooting for the dark side just as much as the force. Especially because of Kylo Ren’s Han and Leia connection. It was particularly heartwarming that our favorite couple from the older films had a child (maybe more?) and that guy is currently going through some, stuff. And I will admit I’m intrigued at the thought of Luke having a daughter. Is that what everyone thought about the end? Rey’s totally his daughter right? If not someone tell the producers she should be. This movie felt comfortable and familiar to me. Our beloved characters grew up. And had children. Just like their fans. Imagine that…
What did you think of Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Did it rock your socks off? Or make you want to return your Leia outfit?
