Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side

Last night we had to good fortune to be invited to a special preview screening of the new Family Guy DVD Something, Something, Something, Dark Side. For those who don’t know, this is the second of Family Guy’s Star Wars parodies that began with Blue Harvest. This one takes on the Empire Strikes Back, just with way more poop jokes. For those that need the plot explained, this film probably isn’t for you but here is a quick recap. After being found and attacked by Darth Vader (Stewie Griffin), the Rebel Alliance flees the ice planet Hoth while pondering their next move. Luke Skywalker (Chris Griffin) goes to the Dagobah system to learn the ways of the force, while Han Solo (Peter Griffin) looks to outrun the empire with help from an old friend.

For Family Guy fans, there is a lot to like here. Something, Something, Something, Dark Side easily beats Blue Harvest in the laugh stakes. From the hilariously offensive opening crawl, to fart jokes, rape jokes, gay jokes, and some incredibly crude sex jokes, Family Guy manages to up its outrageous content, which is quite a feat considering what they already put on TV. It wouldn’t be a Family Guy DVD release without some extra profanity either, and one such instance arguably brings the films biggest laugh. I won’t give it away, but it involves Han Solo, Princess Leia and the “F” word.

Some of the fun comes from seeing which Family Guy character plays which part, and a few of the choices are inspired. Having the giant chicken play Boba Fett seems like a no brainer, and the writers cop to it in a scene where Stewie breaks the fourth wall. Also brilliant for long time fans is seeing what role poor Meg gets saddled with. Some of the odder choices are the ones for Yoda, who is played by the guy Chris works with at the convenience store. Seeing as he has hardly been in any episodes it didn’t really seem a great fit, but I couldn’t think of a suitable replacement either. The other is Lando Calrissian being Mort Goldman, surely they should have swapped his role with Cleveland, who is once again R2-D2.

The cut away gags and pop culture references are in full flow as well, including an extended montage of Rocky IV, a live action Tom Selleck appearance, Rodney Dangerfield and many more. Some of the more fringe characters are also included, such as Consuela the Maid, who argues with Darth Vader about the use of Windex.

The feature looks amazing too. The quality of the animation is really lifted for these specials and it shows.  Everything is stunningly rendered, and done with remarkable accuracy to the source material. The shots in space are a technical marvel, and the dogfights look stunning. Full credit must go to director Dominic Polcino and his animation team for really raising the bar with this one.

Overall Something, Something, Something, Dark Side is a success. It is consistently amusing, with multiple big laughs. For those who have never seen a Star Wars, there is still enough Family Guy humour to make it entertaining. For those who aren’t huge Family Guy fans, there are plenty of geeky Star Wars nods to keep you entertained. For fans of both, well this is something that should definitely be checked out.

Special Features

• Audio Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Behind-The-Scenes Featurette – “The Darkside of Poster Art”
• Animatics
• Pop-Up Video