Dani Hoopii had never seen any of the “Star Wars” movies. Not one.
She and her husband, Taylor, love movies and often go on movie dates, but the whole galactic empire business was just not her thing.
The day after Christmas, Taylor took their daughter to see “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at the Ward Titan XC theater. Dani stayed home.
But then Dani, an events coordinator for the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, and Taylor, a Honolulu police officer, were having one of those end-of-year talks when you evaluate your shortcomings and goals.
“Dani shared a tender moment with me about her frustrations with committing and sticking to something to completion. This sparked this idea for me for 2016,” Taylor said.
He would teach her, his wife of almost 23 years. Put her through a self-styled Jedi academy. Make her sit through the first six “Star Wars” movies. Daughter Teal was on winter break — she’s a senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa majoring in accounting. They’d do it together, as a family. It would be fun. She would prove to herself that she could see a mission through to the end.
He bought the series on DVD. He planned the movie date night for Jan. 9 and worked backward. They sat through one episode a night starting on Jan. 3. He had dinner ready so that when she came home from work, they could just start the movie. Both posted updates for their thousands of Facebook friends.
“Was this series tough for her? Yes it was!” Taylor wrote. “She struggled through the ‘oldness’ of Episodes 4-6. The story of the Republic, Galactic Empire, and Senate were gibberish to her. She fell asleep on several occasions. But you see, the beauty surrounding all of this is that despite the challenges and struggles, there was a plan.”
“Rough week for me. My head bobbled every night,” Dani said. “They made me get up and walk or yelled in my face to WAKE UP! It was brutal and there were a few times he paused it to wait for me to get up. Each time I said ‘I’m good! I’m up!’”
Taylor’s report was more rosy: “As a husband and father, I just spent the greatest and most memorable 12 hours of time with the ones I love most. There are couples that cannot stand to be in the same room for more than an hour.”
On Jan. 8 they both posted the news that Dani had made it through the first six movies and was ready to watch “The Force Awakens.” The next night, they went to dinner at their favorite restaurant and had reserved seats at their favorite theater, Titan XC at Ward. Their friends followed the building excitement on social media. Dani was ready. She was doing it. She set a goal, put in the hours and was about to cross the finish line.
At 7:11 p.m. Taylor posted, “The time has come … May she stay awake.”
She didn’t. Even after all that buildup and preparation and the social media following that had been hooked on the story of her journey.
At 10:14 p.m. Taylor took to Facebook in a Yoda-esque reflection.
“Finished it is. Disturbance in the force there was. Fell asleep she did. Shake my head I did. Drawn to the dark side she was.”
“Not even the popcorn kept me up. I was chewing and sleeping,” Dani confessed.
He called her a Sith. She said she didn’t care. She will never re-watch any of the “Star Wars“ series. She did it. It’s done. Pau. Still, they had fun. They always do.
Taylor’s last words on the subject were in his best
Yoda-speak: “Love her tons I still do.”
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@ staradvertiser.com.