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The success of their early-'90s movie parodies paved the way for ever more elaborate Hollywood send-ups from the BBC comedy duo of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. In the tradition of their Titanic satire from the previous Christmas, the 1999 holiday special consists of an extended riff on Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Not every joke is top-notch, but the film provides such extensive opportunities for satire that not a minute goes by without a deep belly laugh. Sure, Jar Jar Binks and other creations get their due, but we also get dead-on impersonations of Liam Neeson (already a target of ridicule in an earlier Rob Roy/Braveheart crossover from French & Saunders: Living in a Material World), Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman. As usual, some of the funniest bits are the incidental ones; the solo Spice Girls spot is hilarious, as is yet another extended swipe at Madonna. The unfortunate downside to all this pop culture mania is that the duo's penchant for gently skewering everyday British culture doesn't get utilized much. It's always a shame when almost every joke in a French & Saunders production survives the trip across the Atlantic. Still, what is here is awfully funny and several cuts above, say, Billy Crystal's perennial Oscars send-ups.