Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Fran Middleton has an endearing, cheeky goofiness that goes a long way, but not far enough to sustain this loosest of low-budget Star Wars parodies.

It seems harsh to accuse her of amateurishness, as that’s her very stock in trade, but Fran Solo comes across as underpowered and self-indulgent as she entertains herself with flimsy premises and corny gags. 

The biggest joke of all is that she has the audacity to present this half-formed nonsense as a show – and that’s very deliberate. It’s not quite anti-comedy, as her intent is to be silly rather than deadpan, but it does involve the audience buying into the concept that not putting the effort in is funny in itself. Many, indeed, do – but it’s a big ask.

Like One Man Star Wars, which Canadian actor Charles Ross has been performing with finely-honed skills for the best part of 20 years, the premise here is a lo-fi re-enactment of the first movie, from the scrolling opening credits, to Han Solo becoming encased in carbonite, to Princess Leia’s unusual hairstyle. But where Ross brings precision, Middleton brings half-arsed chaos. 

She throws a lot at it, from cheap props to lip-synching, using the space and her physicality to make the 50 minutes feel dynamic. But her animation doesn’t conceal the fact that a few Star Wars in-jokes are no substitute for substance.

Middleton has plenty of charisma, and a knowingly unhinged daftness, reflected in her intense stares, that’s redolent of Anne Edmonds. But there’s nothing here that builds on that fine presence; instead she squanders it.

Review date: 3 Apr 2019
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival