Main cast: Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Vin Diesel (Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Sean Gunn (Kraglin Obfonteri), The Old ’97s (Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen), Michael Rooker (Yondu Udonta), and Kevin Bacon (Himself)
Director: James Gunn
Ah yes, a James Gunn production, which these days is synonymous with nepotism, self-indulgence, and let’s hire all his coke buddies (I’m talking about the soft drink, naturally) to be in whatever he is making.
This is why Sean Gunn gets a special mention in the credit, as what would that poor fellow do to earn a paycheck without his brother handing out roles and checks? There’s another Gunn playing a minor role here, but I suppose it’s a small relief that Mr Gunn didn’t bring back his beau this time.
Michael Rooker is back, though, voicing an animated Yondu in flashback scenes, and who wants to bet that Mr Rooker is already cast as Pa Kent in Mr Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie?
The real question here is how many roles Sean Gunn would get in Mr Gunn’s upcoming and undoubtedly self-indulgent DCU, provided the studio hadn’t scrapped everything by then after all the consecutive flops it had with its cape crap movies. Don’t laugh, MCU fans, as the MCU is fast heading in that direction.
Oh yes, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. I’m late to the bandwagon, as I was burned out by the endless cape crap stuff that seemed to pop up every other week, but I figure I may as well be a completionist and watch this one before watching the latest and supposedly final installment of Sean Gunns of the Galaxy.
In this one, Sean Gunn informs the rest of the Guardians of how Yondu ruined Christmas for Peter because, remember, back then the blue daddy wanted Star-Lord to be all tough and hard-nosed like the rest of the Ravagers.
Since Peter is blue over Gamorra being dead and then coming back from another multiverse to reject him and all, the rest decide to cheer him up by giving him a fabulous Christmas. Being the idiots that they are, Drax and Mantis go off to Earth to kidnap Kevin Bacon, James Gunn’s Peter’s childhood idol, and naturally everyone has a great time during Christmas.
Well, this one has a little bit of schmaltz, but for the most part, it’s Drax and Mantis and Sean Gunn and Kevin Bacon mugging around and having fun on a paid vacation courtesy of the director, writer, best friend, and coke fan. The comedy is becoming tad predictable as Mr Gunn, like Joss Whedon, has a brand of humor that works but is so distinctive that it can become formulaic and repetitive after constant exposure.
I mean, there are some kooky scenes, Chris Pratt is being Chris Pratt, and all, but in the end, the whole thing feels like cut scenes from the previous Guardians of the Galaxy movies cobbled together to let Disney+ fill up a slot in the catalog.
Did I have fun? Well, it’s a cute, if tad forgettable, thing, and it sure beats all of the crap served up in the current phase of the MCU. Three cheers for that, at least!
