At the beginning of “Fanboys,” two of the titular characters argue about Boba Fett’s degree of coolness, the Fett-hater noting that the Rocketeer also had a jet pack, so that can’t be a point in his favor. I was never the type of geek to argue the pluses and minuses of fictional characters, but I did notice “Wookiee” is spelled wrong in the DVD special features, so I guess I’m some degree of fanboy myself.
Set in late 1998, “Fanboys” follows four guys and one gal (as Zoe, Kristen Bell represents the token honey we all had in our high school group) on a road trip to break into Skywalker Ranch and see “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace” before its release, because Linus (Christopher Marquette) is dying of cancer. The point of the film is not whether “Episode I” is any good — “Hey guys, what if the movie sucks?,” Eric (Sam Huntington) asks at the end — it’s just something you can bond with your friends over. The movie has enough “Star Wars” references to be funny, but not so many that the fanboys become pathetic.
These guys’ passion for “Star Wars” could be replaced with listening to the music of Rush or drawing comic books — the point is, do what you like, and don’t apologize for it.
The tone of “Fanboys” isn’t as much parody as you might expect. True, it goes over the top in the vitriol our heroes display toward Trekkies, although Seth Rogen is so spot-on as the lead Trekkie that the whole subplot is worth it. But mostly, it’s just a road trip movie about five friends.
Their geekdom is believably ingrained in their lives. When they enter a Halloween party dressed as Darth Vader and stormtroopers, they actually seem comfortable in the costumes. All of their abodes — including Hutch’s (Dan Fogler) garage residence (no, “carriage house”) and van — are covered with “Star Wars” memorabilia. Covered to the point where you have to chuckle: I think the entire first series of “A New Hope” trading cards is taped to the inside of Hutch’s lightspeed-equipped van. (By the way, the lightspeed is explained as a nitrous tank, so there are real-world explanations for the shenanigans; it doesn’t devolve into absurdity.)
“Fanboys” won’t win prizes for originality: The wacky mishaps are similar to what I’ve seen in “Dumb & Dumber,” “The Cable Guy” and that “Beverly Hills 90210” episode where Brandon and Dylan go on a motorcycle trip. It also has a sketchily presented romance between Zoe and Windows (Jay Baruchel), and that whole cancer subplot, which provide a bit of emotional backbone. But mainly, Eric, Linus, Hutch, Windows and Zoe seem like genuine friends, and that’s why the film works.
You know, between all the “Star Wars” talk and the music by Chumbawamba and Spacehog, “Fanboys” kinda made me wish it was 1998 again.
Comments
Gotta say, I had actually never heard of this movie but after watching the trailer I think it looks like a must see.
I’ll comment again after watching…# Posted By Shaune | 5/22/09 12:04 PM
There’s a whole side story to “Fanboys” about how it was mistreated by the studio. They wanted to take the cancer subplot out, and you’ll see how ridiculous that suggestion is once you see the movie. “Fanboys” was actually finished several years ago (in the commentary, they talk about how Kristen Bell was working on “Veronica Mars” at the time). But the 10th anniversary of “Episode I” is a perfect time to release it, and now we can just appreciate it as a fun little movie rather than complaining about it not being released.# Posted By John Hansen | 5/22/09 12:24 PM