REVIEW: Fanboys

In mere hours, a new chapter in the iconic Star Wars saga will be released in North American theaters for the first time in over a decade. I can think of few film franchises that have affected me in the way that Star Wars has; I've spent countless dollars on toys and collectibles and sank endless hours into Star Wars Battlefront 2. I own my own custom lightsaber, a copy of The Jedi Path, and fan-restored copies of the unaltered, theatrical cuts of the original trilogy (which I believe is the only true way to watch those movies). By all intents and purposes, I am a fanboy. With that in mind and The Force Awakens looming on the horizon, I thought it appropriate to check out the 2009 roadtrip comedy, Fanboys.

Taking place in 1998, the film follows a group of childhood friends, all with a strong passion for Star Wars. Eric (Sam Huntington), the only member of the group who has made anything of himself since high school, is reunited with former best friends Windows (Jay Baruchel), Hutch (Dan Fogler), and Linus (Chris Marquette) at a Halloween party, only to learn that Linus is dying of cancer. He's been given four months to live, while The Phantom Menace comes out in six. Refusing to let their friend die without experiencing the beginning of a new era of Star Wars films, the four set out on a cross-country roadtrip to break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and steal a rough cut of Episode I.

It's a great premise, especially when one considers how The Phantom Menace was received by fans upon release. All the pieces are in place for a fun, goofy adventure packed to the brim with Star Wars references and in-jokes. Unfortunately, the film only comes together in such a manner about half of the time. While everyone involved clearly had loads of fun making this, the characters are utterly flat manchild stereotypes. While the attention to detail is appreciated (the protagonists spend their time playing Mario Kart 64 and listening exclusively to cassette tapes of Rush), it still stands that jokes about sexually frustrated twenty-something dorks who live in their parents' garage simply aren't funny or original. One of the few characters with a complete arc here is Zoe, played by Kristen Bell. While she gives a good, enthusiastic performance as the lone female working in Windows' comic shop, her potential is sadly squandered when she is eventually relegated to the role of the hot geek girl love interest (an unnecessary change that comes completely out of the blue). There's a number of subplots (the worst of which is Eric's father asking him to take over his car dealership empire) that are completely dropped and more or less forgotten, only serving to create some false sense of tension or conflict. It's when this movie tries to be an actual movie, rather than a goofy cavalcade of Star Wars jokes, that it falls short. Aspects like the subplots and character arcs (or lack thereof) are wholly unremarkable and drag the rest of the film down with it.

That said, the parts of this that I enjoyed, I really did enjoy. While the first half of the movie is rough and unfocused, it really comes into its own during the final act, when the group actually infiltrates Skywalker Ranch. For every few groan-inducing name drops (for instance, "what in Greedo's name", which doesn't even make sense), there's actually some really clever references and cameos sprinkled throughout (my favorite of which was an excellent series of visual gags in the style of THX-1138). While the characters and performances are nothing extraordinary, it's clear that this was a project made by people who felt passionate about the subject matter. Everyone appears to be having loads of fun, and that sense of fun manages to translate onto the viewer when the film is at its strongest. It's crude and unrefined, but there is good in it. I've felt it.

While it's far from excellent, I can't truly bring myself to call Fanboys a bad movie; even though it honestly kinda is. The plot is practically nonexistent beyond the base premise, the characters are as flat and stereotypical as they come, and half of the jokes amount to little more than enthusiastic name-drops or references to how geeks never seem to get laid. With all that said, it has a good heart; there's a handful of chuckle-worthy cameos and some admittedly really clever references here and there. If you're not a Star Wars fan, there's absolutely no reason for you to ever go near this film. But if you grew up with Star Wars as I did, there's definitely some enjoyment to be had here. It's nothing particularly special, but I don't feel as though I've completely wasted my time, which is far more than I can usually say for other films like this.