Anthony Lane on Revenge of the Sith (Again)

I love Anthony Lane. In his original New Yorker post on Revenge of the Sith, he savaged the movie, hilariously sending up Yoda's syntax (among other things) and ending one paragraph with the classic line "Break me a fucking give."

In his overview of the films of 2005 in the January 16 issue (yes, I'm woefully behind on my magazine reading), he again takes on Revenge of the Sith, writing:

"I did laugh at the end of "Revenge of the Sith," but that was from pure relief, much as the people of Stalingrad gave a bitter, mirthless grin when the siege was finally lifted."

Not being a Star Wars guy, I find this hilarious.

In other notes from this article, Lane discusses the lack of comedy in today's films. I wonder if this is true. Clearly, we are not in any golden age of comedy. Most comedies are flat and boring. I'm going to see His Girl Friday today so maybe I'll have more to say on this later. I do find it an interesting observation.