Disclaimer: This movie strikes a very personal chord with me so I doubt this will be at all helpful to others. Sorry 'bout that.

5-25-77 is an important date for sure. I can't thank Patrick Read Johnson enough for sharing this bio-pic of his life, which hits many of the same notes of my own childhood as well (told you it was personal). When I heard about this movie I couldn't wait to see it, and I was not disappointed!

I'll hold my personal stories a moment to say that I thoroughly enjoyed going along on this young geek's life journey - all the way to ILM and back! It was a very personal story, full of heart and humor, honest angst and self doubt. The movie, though top quality, maintains a wonderfully "homemade" feel throughout, right through the credits. It boasts a terrific cast of actors for sure! Colleen Camp was simply fierce as Pat's mom! :-)

So here goes… Even though my own Super8 filmmaking began just after Star Wars was released and spanned my wonder years, 12-18, leading up to a career in television, there were many moments throughout 5-25-77 that resonated perfectly with my own childhood. From the Testor paints and plastic model kits (the same models I had!) , to the bedroom movie posters (same 2001 poster!),to the "friends and family" backyard Super 8 productions, it was all spot on for me growing up in a similar small town in Florida.

When I heard those awesome Alan Parsons Project tunes peppered throughout I was grinning ear-to-ear, as they are my jam (…as not-cool people say trying to sound cool)! Although my own "love life" at that young age was all G-rated, I too had a first crush moment tied to a movie-date of Star Wars which, unfortunately for her (?),I was more smitten with at the time. (sigh)

Alas, there was only a single showing on a single day, but I hope to be able to see 5-25-77 again (and soon!) because I know there were many more "déjà vu" moments that I just can't recollect now. This was simply a wonderful movie experience, allowing me to relive my youthful Super8 hijinks which, in my own mind, were every bit as adventurous as Mr. Johnsons. And although I never made it to Hollywood, my filmmaking buddies and I DID get our 1982 stop-motion magnum opus "Too Much Star Wars" delivered directly to Lucasfilm to become part of their fan-film archives, and received a nerdily epic letter on Lucasfilm stationary in return. (yes, it's framed on my wall)

5-25-77 forever!!

This film was shown at my local art-house theater tonight, and it far exceeded my expectations - I'd seen an earlier version a few years ago and really didn't know what to expect. This is an indie gem, a coming- of-age tale built around the release of the first Star Wars film on May 25, 1977. The filmmaker weaves the lead character's lovable, laughable attempts at Super-8 filmmaking into his high school loves and losses and his breakthrough experiences with other films of the era in a way that is engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking from start to finish. The actors are terrific and very professional, the attention to detail is outstanding, and the production values are top notch. Highly recommended.

There are two ways to review this movie. On the one hand, it is obviously a labor of love, and you have to admire director Patrick Johnson's persistence. He worked for 13 years to get this project completed. So I have to give him an A for effort. It's amazing that an amateur filmmaker was able to bring his film to the big screen. This is a worthy "student film", but it is what it is, and it should never have been released in theaters. Everything about it is amateurish, including the acting, the directing, the script, and the cinematography. For example, the director seems to think that having one of the actors stare into the camera with his mouth open for 10 seconds is high drama (and he uses this technique repeatedly). I'm not saying that there is no audience for this movie. I'm guessing that sci-fi geek's, Star Wars fanatics, and amateur filmmakers will enjoy it despite its flaws. But it should have gone straight to DVD and streaming. I felt ripped off having to pay eight bucks to see it.