Fanboys (2008)

After all this time waiting, here it is. And it's just ok. Set in 1998, the story follows a group of 20-something die-hard Star Wars nerds dead set on sneaking into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch to see The Phantom Menace because Linus (Chris Marquette) will die from cancer before it is released in theaters. Hutch (Dan Fogler) and Windows (Jay Baruchel) convince Linus' estranged high school best friend Eric (Sam Huntington) to accompany them on this daring and geeky escapade. Eric and Linus grudgingly re-establish their friendship as they drive Hutch's pimped-out van across several states. Things get pretty wacky as they run into Star Trek fans, Harry Knowles, the drug-peddling "Chief", Las Vegas escorts, and William Shatner. When they end up in jail, Zoe (Kristen Bell), who works in Windows' comic book store, arrives to bail them out and join them when they finally break in. Let's hope Episode I doesn't suck after all the trouble they went through! Oops...

The premise is great, but the story is pretty pitiful. The cancer thing was done fairly unconvincingly. Linus has some unnamed disease and has "tried every kind of treatment", and yet looks just fine as opposed to anyone who's undergone chemotherapy. I know it's possible that he hadn't done any treatment recently and so appeared healthy as he waited it out, but in general it was just handled poorly. Because I didn't really believe in it, it made the story overly sappy. The whole "this trip was really just about friendship and not about the movie" theme was a give-in, but I guess the writers gave the audience no credit since that had to be overtly stated at the end. Honestly it was like an after-school special.

I also found a lot of the character interactions or general plot points unrealistic to the point of detraction. I know it's not exactly slice-of-life but if you're trying to be all dramatic with the friendship and dying young stuff, you can't just forget about the rest of your movie. Spoiler here, but when Windows suddenly realized after a 60-minute conversation with an escort that Zoe liked him and therefore he must have feelings for her too? And then they're like instantly hooking up while hiding from Skywalker Ranch guards. Really? I know romance wasn't the focus of the film but christ they could have tried to actually develop a relationship. And when Eric, who'd been working as a car salesman, got a comic published in under six months? Again, really? Also, Dan Fogler's character was just awful. I don't know if it was his performance or the nature of the character, but I just wanted him to stop talking whenever he was around. And he was around a lot.

Ok so clearly I had some issues. But it wasn't all bad. It was generally very funny, with lots of nods to geek culture that anyone interested in this movie would surely enjoy. They really knew their fanbase. I expect a lot of viewers wouldn't really care about the plot what with the copious Star Wars references and scene recreations, so it's sure to be enjoyed by a lot of people. Cameos from the likes of Seth Rogen, Jay and Silent Bob, Carrie Fisher, and Billy Dee Williams will surely be appreciated. I like Chris Marquette and Jay Baruchel, though they weren't particularly special here. Kristen Bell is a major draw, I know, and I dig her but her wig looked awful and if you're super-pumped for this, it's only like 30 seconds. Overall it's just a really silly movie.

Because I remember laughing a lot and enjoying the various dips into Star Wars lore, and because I really shouldn't expect a well-executed plot from something that's been redone and edited as much as this, I'm gonna go easy on Fanboys. For now. A re-viewing would probably lead to a different opinion.

3.5/5