Fanboys
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Directed by: Kyle Newman
Starring:
Sam Huntington - Eric
Chris Marquette - Linus
Dan Fogler - Hutch
Jay Baruchel - Windows
Kristen Bell - Zoe
I like Fanboys more than I should. There's a lot in the film that doesn't work. From over-reliance on cameos to repeated jokes that fall flat to set-ups that don't really play to their full potential and punchlines that don't get enough of a set-up, Fanboys still has a lot of charm and passion. When you stop to realize that that it has to take the audience back to a time when George Lucas' name wasn't an insult and childhoods had yet to be raped, the film is really quite a marvel.
The year is 1998 and four friends can't wait to see Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. When their friend Linus (Chris Marquette) is dying of cancer with only about four months to live, they really can't wait so pals Eric (Sam Huntington), Hutch (Dan Fogler), and Windows (Jay Baruchel) decide to take Linus on a road trip from Ohio to Skywalker Ranch, break into the compound, and watch a rough cut of the highly-anticipated prequel. Thanks to the episodic nature of the road movie, the friends encounter angry Trekkies, Harry Knowles, and a host of other recognizable faces from Kevin Smith to Seth Rogen.
It's when the film starts to become "Hey! It's that guy!" it starts to falter because it really doesn't need those crutches thanks to its strong cast. The four guys play off each other so well and their fanboyism doesn't feel sad but passionate and exciting. While the film acknowledges their shortcomings in the realm of adult responsibilities, the charm and excitement these characters feel for Star Wars is contagious.
However, their relationship is almost dwarfed by Fogler's performance. Rather than just playing it "Wacky fat guy", Fogler steals all the scenes with fantastic comic timing and unpredictable delivery. Had Fanboys received a wide-release years ago, Fogler would probably be as popular as Seth Rogen and Danny McBride (another cameo) are today.
Sadly, the burden of the final product just becomes too heavy for the cast. While "Fanboys" bursts through the first half with tremendous energy, the film just becomes overly-reliant on cameos and references. By the time Ray Park appears as a security guard who mumbles "Prepare to get mauled", you've had about enough. You start to wonder, "If this film takes place in 1998, don't these kids have problems with the Special Editions?" And if Rule 1 of Hutch's van is Rush-music only, then how come we maybe hear about twenty second of Rush in the entire movie? It all probably comes down to rights and compromises and sad Hollywood realities. This is unfortunate as I've heard that director Kyle Newman's first cut of the film is much more successful and as we heard in a recent interview, once he finally got control of the film back, he only had 36 hours to recut it into an acceptable form.
It's been a rough road for Fanboys and its theatrical release is a victory in and of itself. The final product may not have been worth the gigantic fight but it's more enjoyable than it should be under its circumstances and that's thanks to the tremendous work by the highly-likable cast and the powerful reminder of what we liked about Star Wars before we could only think about what we hated about George Lucas.
Words by
Matt Goldberg
2.16.09