Maybe Grogu and some talking sheep can save us from reality | Opinion

Look, this has already been an annoyingly long year, we’re on the brink of a searing-hot summer, gas prices are higher than my cousin Stu at a Phish concert, and we’re at war with Iran.

Given all that, I have one request: I don’t want to hear a single unkind or critical word about the new "Star Wars" movie, “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” That movie, which I have not yet seen, is about the only good thing happening in this world, and I refuse to let anyone take that from me. 

For those who haven’t watched the television series “The Mandalorian,” from which the new movie bubbled up, here’s a quick synopsis: There’s a cool dude in an awesome helmet who protects an absolutely freaking adorable creature who audiences initially referred to as Baby Yoda, because he looks like a baby Yoda, the iconic character from past "Star Wars" films.

We eventually learned the creature’s name is Grogu, and he is fantastic and curious and funny, and he uses the Force, which is also awesome. After an episode or two of the series, most viewers adopted the sensibility of the cool-helmeted dude Grogu rides with and decided they too would die to protect the little green fellow.

I’m not saying any of this makes sense. I’m not saying it’s particularly normal for a 55-year-old person like myself to have such a strong emotional connection to a cute fictional "Star Wars" character. I should probably be embarrassed, but I’m very much not.

More than ever, Americans need Grogu and the Mandalorian

Mainly, I’m tired of the world around us, and I’m tired of everything sucking so much. “The Mandalorian” series, which stylistically harkens back to the great spaghetti westerns of the mid-1960s, has brought great joy and escapism, and I will celebrate this new movie and savor its joy and escapism, no matter what any critic or cinema scold says.

The show’s other central character, Grogu’s protector, is Din Djarin, though he’s often referred to as just “The Mandalorian” or the shorter “Mando.” I like him because he doesn’t talk much. I wish more people would follow his lead. We have far too many people out there – like our president and literally everyone on the 24-hour news networks – who think that if they stop talking, the planet will stop rotating. 

Mando is, admirably, a person of few words. He stands back and lets Grogu be adorable, which is what most of us are paying to see. And when anyone threatens Grogu, he opens up a can of whoop-ass, which I appreciate on a visceral level. The audience gets to feel vicariously protective and tough.

There are also lasers, and lasers are very cool. When the world is looking bleak and the news is dreadful, watching some folks zip around pew-pew-pewing at each other with lasers tends to help.

Speaking of Grogu, let me also explain why 'The Sheep Detectives' rocks

Anyway, as long as we’re on the subject of movies and escapism and adorableness, let me tell you about some talking sheep. 

The second good thing in our consistently appalling world is a movie called “The Sheep Detectives.” As with the movie about my friend Grogu, there’s no logical reason why grown-up me would have any opinion about a live-action movie about talking, CGI-enhanced sheep.

And yet, I spent money and went to see the movie, which stars Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson and the voice of Julia Louis-Dreyfus coming out of a sheep’s mouth. I loved every minute of it. I would kill for those sheep, as I would for Grogu.

The movie offered a nearly two-hour departure from reality, immersing the audience in smart dialogue, some surprisingly deep and tender meditations on the weighty issues of death and inclusion, and a bunch of really funny talking sheep.

It’s one of those movies that leaves you almost shocked, asking, “What just happened? How is a movie about verbal sheep who solve a crime SO incredibly good?”

A little escapism can go a long way in a time of war and soaring prices

I posit that we’re in a moment of such division and frustration and stupidity that our brains need breaks, and few breaks are better, brain-wise, than ones that take us far, far away and give us something wholesome to cling to for dear life.

So came the sheep detectives. And so comes Grogu and the Mandalorian. They won’t save us from reality. But they will remove us from it long enough to catch our breath.

As Mando is my witness, I won’t let anybody take that from me.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk.