Ah, cats. When not part of a delicious balanced breakfast, they’re doing their damndest to avoid half-baked jokes like that and provide companionship to lonely souls, such as the Star Wars fan (Gino Scofidio) in “Boba”, obsessively bidding on a rare Darth Vader cape for his 1978 12-inch action figure.
Boba (Harper) provides more than that to this obsessed guy, indirectly showing him that there may actually be life outside of the Star Wars universe, something more than just simply the action figures, the movies, the entire empire surnamed Lucas. And on top of that, Boba’s a cute furball, watching “A New Hope”, especially the lightsaber battles. Writer/director Mark Rusciano has something good going on here, showing this unnamed dude’s attempt to fight the Force that has made up his entire life, but also noting that it never really leaves you, such as when he mistakenly believes that he has attained the Force from everything that he has collected over the years.
Rusciano’s got a quirky style, punctuated by his music choice, but in playing it silent, he should have kept it silent. There’s a moment where the Star Wars obsessive rails against the box with his collectibles in it, complaining about what it’s done to his life and it’s such obvious dialogue that’s known by heart to those who subscribe to this world, even those that haven’t seen “Boba” yet.
Ultimately, “Boba” proves one thing completely: When our obsessions go, they don’t easily leave us. Fortunately for this guy and unfortunately for us, new prospects arise that still keep our loves close to us. Why does he find the chick with the same interest? These fantasies kill.
