R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2001)

"Beneath the Dome" has to be the silliest thing I've seen in a long while, but it's all in good fun. It's like a "Behind the Music" special for R2-D2, and as such it covers everything in Artoo's life from his troubled upbringing (in a human family), his big break with "Star Wars", fall from grace into self-destruction, and fiery rebirth when the prequels were being made. What's surprising is how many people they got to be in on the joke, and it wasn't just whomever they could cobble together from the "Episode II" set: Steven Spielberg, Francis Coppola, Richard Dreyfuss, even Carrie Fisher and Harrison, although Hamill's absence was a bummer). Artoo's fitness training in the gym was a highlight. It topples over into the absurd during his failed bungy stunt, but how else could this have ended? It's a great mockumentary and a good bit of fun.7/10

One of THE most funniest mock-umentaries I have EVER seen. I love how Carrie Fisher is in this, including Natalie Portman. It is very funny. I love how they make R2 look so damn stupid in this...but it's very funny! A must see for those R2 fans!

"R2-D2: Beneath the Dome" sounds like it could be really funny. Think of a blend of E! True Hollywood Story with A & E's Biography, and throw in the fact that it's a robotic character from "Star Wars" being profiled. Sounds interesting, right? Well, it must have been a lot more amusing on paper, because the final product didn't get one laugh at me. Not a single laugh. And I laugh at well-done comedy, whether the critics agree ("Ghostbusters", "Big") or not ("Houseguest", "Men at Work", Adam Sandler films).But this little mockumentary, unfortunately, doesn't work. It's as if everyone is trying to be funny, and unfortunately, in comedy intentionally trying to be funny rarely works outside of a stand-up comedy routine. Samuel L. Jackson talking about "Homeboy is probably from Detroit." Harty-har.Photoshopping R2 into posters for movies, parodied like "Greased" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Oily" is funny if you're in second grade. Watching this, I wanted to like it and I wanted to laugh, but the only ones I can imagine laughing at this are "Star Wars" nerds. That's an oversimplification and not a bash at anyone who enjoyed this little thing, but I'm a big "Star Wars" fan and, blah, this wasn't funny. Comedy is subjective, I know, my opinions are just that: opinions.Now, I don't mean to bash this as much as I am. It's just a little mockumentary on the web (although, for the record, editing the "Who's on First?" comedy routine with Jar-Jar and Yoda was a just little Web thing and that was hilarious). It's even good for a few smiles, when the people being interviewed aren't trying to be funny, and seem like they're telling serious anecdotes. The few smiles tend to come from Spielberg and Coppola, who are surely veterans of serious interviews about filmmakers, and their deadpan takes are amusing...not quite funny, but amusing. In general, though, the clips of R2 with his girlfriend or on the beach alone aren't particularly funny. It's a one-joke premise that would have worked had it just been a one-minute fake ad, but as a 15-minute or whatever documentary, it falls completely flat mostly because the parties involved are conscious they're trying to get you to laugh. Worth watching, sure. It's perfect in showing you that comedy is more difficult than it looks; I'm sure on paper, this sounded really funny.

It is so refreshing to see something like this. The way R2D2 is portrayed has to be seen to be believed. The additional footage is great as are the interviews with some major names of the Star Wars universe.Well worth a look!