5-25-77 (2022)

Over a decade ago, I saw a trailer for a movie that appeared to be about a young film-maker being influenced by Star Wars. It had a strange title: 5-25-77. That was, of course, the date that the original Star Wars was released. As time went on, every now and again, I’d hear about the movie but never a release date. Usually when a trailer appears, a movie is less than a year away from hitting theaters or home video. But more than ten years passed and there was still no sign of 5-25-77 being available to buy, stream, or view in any way. Eventually, I just gave up hope of ever seeing it.

Earlier this year, though, I received an automated email from Amazon. It was one of those “based on your previous purchases, we think you’d like” emails. And, wouldn’t you know it, 5-25-77 was going be released on Blu-ray. Without hesitation, I pre-ordered it and waited for November 22, 2022, the eventual ship date. Last weekend, I sat down and watched the finished version of the film.

My original perception about 5-25-77 wasn’t exactly correct. It does concern itself with a young filmmaker named Pat Johnson (John Francis Daley, Freaks and Geeks) but he’s not influenced by Star Wars. Not at first, anyway. As a young boy in the early 70s, he was first exposed to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Silent Running. Both films featured the work of Douglas Trumbull, a pioneer in special visual effects.

Inspired by those and other early 1970s sci-fi and horror movies, Pat cobbles together Super 8 homages to his favorite movies. From his sister’s bike, he creates a space station for his sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. He fills the swimming pool with fake blood for his version of Jaws 2. He casts his siblings and friends into his productions. And, when he’s not making movies, he’s devouring issues of Starlog and American Cinematographer. Pat is obsessed with movies.

Once Pat enters high school, his friends, especially Bill (Steve Coulter,) wonder why he never seems to finish any of the movies he’s started. While they go on to pursue girls and party, he still hasn’t fully committed to following his dreams to Hollywood. He’s also doing a terrible job of fitting in with those his age. When he meets Linda (Emmi Chen,) a girl who supports his film-making but also wants to get married, Pat is torn between what he “should” be doing and what he really wants to do.

Pat’s mother hopes to provide a catalyst by arranging a meeting with Herb Lightman (Austin Pendleton,) the editor of American Cinematographer, in Hollywood. She hopes that Herb can introduce Pat to his hero, Douglas Trumbull. On the trip, Pat gets a chance to see an unfinished version of a movie called Star Wars. He will never be the same again.

It’s immediately apparent that 5-25-77 is a labor of love for writer/director Patrick Read Johnson. Yes, the awkward, Midwestern boy who acts as the film’s protagonist grew up to be a film-maker. Before his semi-autobiographical 5-25-77, he wrote the story for DragonHeart and directed 1990’s Spaced Invaders. He also created special effects for Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and 2010: The Year We Make Contact. He may not be a household name but he’s definitely carved out a niche for himself in the business.

5-25-77 contains splashes of brilliance and quite a few genuinely heartfelt moments. After all these years, the enthusiasm that Johnson has for film-making, visual effects, and storytelling still burns brightly. Johnson combines footage that looks homemade with professional camera work, sometimes in the same scene. Miniature sets stand in for actual locations from time-to-time. Model cars replace real vehicles. Computer generated backgrounds blend in with practical sets. It’s an odd blend but it gives the movie a unique, pieced-together feel. It’s as if the subject of the movie created the movie. That sort of meta aspect works perfectly.

But, as can happen when a project gestates for a long period of time, it falls prey to some self-indulgent tendencies and possible second guessing. The real Pat Johnson proves to be much less adept than the fictional Pat Johnson in making extensive edits. As a result, 5-25-77 runs too long (2 hours and 12 minutes) and hammers some narrative elements into submission. What feels fresh and fun in the opening reel becomes much less so by the eventual end of the movie.

Since he was one of the first people to see the unfinished Star Wars who wasn’t connected with its production, Johnson may truly be the original Star Wars fanboy. As someone who’s only four years younger than Johnson, I completely understand how he must have felt when he saw it. I felt the same way.

It’s hard to explain how much Star Wars changed everything for people my age at the time of its release. It’s harder still to create a movie that communicates that feeling to an audience. That’s why it pains me to not to have loved every minute of 5-25-77. It’s a movie that speaks a language that will awaken joy in those of us that know the world before and after Star Wars. Johnson fails to harness that language to tell a story that feels as compelling as his mastery of the visual aspect. But, damn, it’s so close.