Happy Jawa - Troops

In 1997 filmmaker Kevin Rubio rocked the internet with the creation and distribution of Troops, an amazingly well made parody of events in Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV) and the television show Cops. The film follows a group of Stormtroopers on their rounds on Tatooine. This film works great as a parody because it sets the premise of the first Star Wars film on its head. These Stormtroopers aren't simply malevolent enforcers of a despotic regime, but workaday, bumbling cops with bad attitudes and heavy artillery. Where in the original film the Empire is seen as monolithic with one will, Troops shows Stormtroopers as individuals with whom we can identify. Captain Bauch is personalized further with his thick Minnesotan accent.

The storyline is simple and familiar to anyone who has watched an episode of cops - stolen goods, domestic disputes, the only thing that is missing is someone running away without a shirt on. Of course, the stolen goods are droids (with a cameo by Tom Servo from Mystery Science Theatre 3000) and Jawas are the suspects and the domestic dispute is between Owen and Beru Lars. The humor comes from contextualizing the epic sweep of Star Wars in something as mundane and ordinary as the petty and despondent world of Cops.

The film is big on special effects. The costumes are incredibly well done. They look right off the studio lot. The AT-ST walkers and speeder bikes are perfectly done and seamless within the context of the film. Best of all, they don't draw attention to themselves but serve the story.

Troops set the gold standard for fan flicks to come both with the technical aspects of film-making and the writing and directing.