KEY POINTS:
What: One Man Stars Wars Trilogy by Charles Ross
Where: SkyCity Theatre until Saturday
To be frank, there are better impersonators of Star Wars characters out there. Or, in fact, in here - guys from the local fan club lined up as a stormtrooper guard of honour at the opening night of this comedy festival show. They sure looked the part. But Canadian Charles Ross doesn't really have to.
As he turns the original trilogy into a prop-free one-hour performance, what he might lack in the dead-on voice department he more than makes up for in sheer energy and in the way he runs a fine line between fanboy tribute and affectionate satire.
It's a manic wonder of a show which reminds of a few truisms of those George Lucas flicks - the sound effects were way cooler than the creaky dialogue, Luke Skywalker was a real whiner, C3PO was annoyingly camp, Princess Leia might have been the only woman in the movie but sure sounded like a man ... or is that memory getting mixed up with Ross' reinterpretation? Oh well, that's all part of the fun to be had in this one.
The geekier your appreciation of Star Wars, the more you'll love it - but you might also be in for some minor disappointments as some key scenes are left on the equivalent of his cutting room floor (hey buddy, points off for there's no "These are not the droids you are looking for").
But, then again, here is a guy who can mime the difference between a Rebel Alliance X-Wing and a Y-Wing. Or do a wonderful Jabba the Hutt. His Death Star explosion is something to see, as is his attack on the At-Ats from The Empire Strikes Back.
Add a line in asides which gently prod at the some of the films' weaknesses and the laughs keep coming. Better still, they give everybody a break from Ross humming the entire score.
Other than his impressive command of the material, it's not really a show that offers many surprises.
It's comedy as pop culture comfort food. It's also thoroughly entertaining and, yes, the farce is strong with this one.
