This 1999 Video Of Star Wars Nerds Seeing 'The Phantom Menace' On Opening Night Is Fantastic

Uproxx – Funny Local News Bloopers compiled grainy interview footage from 1999 right before and after naive Star Wars fans saw The Phantom Menace for the first time. Ah, we were so young back then, and very dumb. The positive reactions far outnumber the negative reviews. Not just among children, either. It’s one thing for a kid to think Jar Jar is fun — it’s another when someone thinks The Phantom Menace is going to be the next Wonder of the World and a grown man praises the film for its noise.

Listen, there’s a new Star Wars coming out this month and there are ways to segue into this video of 1999 Phantom Menace reactions but I’d rather just get into the AMAZING crew of characters here. I mean my god, beauty after beauty:

Whoa check out the badass here, “Sick from school”… man I wonder what kind of crazy misadventures Evan got in after this but I bet it involves wealth management and a hen pecking wife.

This guy with his cigarette and effete goth vibes definitely still looks exactly like that. And you know what? I bet he’s pulling some other kinda chubby but still not necessarily uncute chick in black lipstick. Guy’s got a vibe, you can’t fight it.

Laugh all you want at his gnarly California accent but if you weren’t wearing a visor in 1999 you were the nerd, I’ll tell you that. Hell turn that bad boy backwards and flip it upside down, now you’ve got a party going. No better way to take in the dulcet tones of Jar-Jar Binks.

Sunglasses straight from the “Autodelete My Hard Drive When An Incorrect Password Is Used Three Times” specialty line of eyewear.

And this dude who DEFINITELY would deny this video of him giving Phantom Menace rave reviews exists when confronted about it at a convention. So many great characters in there, surprisingly well-spoken Darth Maul in particular was a favorite. Fun times in 1999 and, even though I’m going to see the new Star Wars, thinking about the very passionate fan base being disappointed again like this does stir a bit of a “Watch the world burn” itch in me. Excited to see how it turns out either way.