Anyone who has been to the San Diego Comic Con, or even just follows nerd movie news, originally heard about fanboys a couple of years ago. I don't remember where I originally heard it, but sometime back in 2006 or so I had begun to hear rumors and stories about the film. Originally, based on its name I was under the impression that it was going to be a fan film about Star Wars, as if it would be the Star Wars version of the film Trekkies, which is a rather frightening look at Star Trek fans that are a few steps past the point of being insane.
After a while though, I found out that wasn't true. Fanboys wasn't a documentary about Star Wars fans. It was a fictional film about a group of die hard Star Wars fans who break into Skywalker ranch. Being a big Star Wars fan myself, I instantly found this idea to be an amusing plot for a film and have since been keeping an eye on the film's developmental process. It hasn't been an easy thing to do. For the last two years the film has seen production delays, fights with its production company (The Wienstein Company) over forced script changes and a massive fan backlash that got the script changes reversed. To get more detail on this, check out the film's Wikipedia page.
Now, finally, in 2009 the film has been released for the public to see. This comes after numerous delays and broken release dates. And to top it all off, the film has only been released on 44 screens across the US, which pretty much guarantees its utter failure at the box office. Luckily though, I happen to live near one of those 44 screens and have been able to see the film. And as one die hard Star Wars fan watching a group of fictional Star Wars fans, here's my thoughts on it.
The film's basic plot surrounds a group of friends who are hardcore Star Wars fans back in the year 1998. Episode I is a year away from release and that's pretty much all the main characters can seem to think about or talk about. However, tragedy has struck the group and they have been coming to terms with the fact that one of their number is dying of cancer. Linus (the dying guy) also had a falling out a few years earlier with his former best friend Eric after Eric decided that it was time to "grow up" and act like an adult while the rest of the group continued to enjoy playing video games and working at a local comic book store. Now, upon realizing that his former friend is going to die before the new Star Wars film comes out, Eric convinces the rest of the group and Linus that they need to drive across country and break into George Lucas' compound called Skywalker Ranch to steal a rough cut of the film so that Linus can see it before he dies. The road trip is begun, and as tends to happens in films like these . . . . . hijinks ensue.
On a technical level, Fanboys is a very simple film. It's a buddy comedy much like National Lampoons Road Trip or other films like that. The story is pretty simple, the characters are caricatures that are for the most part two dimensional, and as the film progresses they find themselves in one wacky situation after the other with each being slightly more absurd than the one before it. The dialogue is fairly basic and the film is crammed full of dick and fart jokes. I admit that when viewed from a cinematic standpoint, the film to be honest isn't very good. But there's more going for this film than just cinematic merits. Where Fanboys truly excels is in delivering a spot on spoof of fans that is so obviously filled with Star Wars love that any fan of the films is going to find something in the movie to enjoy.
Back in 1998 I happened to be the age the characters in this film are. Perhaps that colors my view of the film a bit, but I couldn't help but feel nostalgic as I watched these Fanboys having the same kinds of conversations and arguments that my friends and I had back then. Arguing over Luke and Leia's kiss in Empire Strikes Back, lamenting the lack of cute female nerds in our lives, and above all looking to the future with the fundamental belief that Episode One was going to be the greatest thing ever. This was a time before Jar Jar, before midichlorians, when Darth Vader was the most badass person ever and not some whiny little slave kid. We were a generation of kids who had grown up and were about to be treated to a new installment of our favorite thing ever. It was a bright and shining time, and the future was almost upon us. This is the feeling Fanboys captures so well. That period of hopeful anticipation that all Star Wars fans felt while counting down the days to Episode One's release.
Fanboys, at its heart, is a film about how Star Wars has touched an entire generation of people and brought them together as a community. What I really loved about the film was seeing it in a crowded theater of like minded fans who were all there because we loved the same thing. It was getting to see my friend Wes bust out the Lightsaber app for his iphone and dueling a total stranger who also had the iphone app. It was seeing six different people wearing the same Boba Fett hoodie all in the same place. It was the entire theater going wild and cheering when the characters are seen playing Mario Kart on the N64 in one scene. It felt like that night back in 1999 when I and all of my friends waited outside for hours to see Episode One on opening day.
I must also give major credit to George Lucas himself for being cool enough to help this film out. Upon learning of the film's creation, George did an incredibly awesome thing and gave the filmmakers access to Skywalker Sound where they could use actual sound clips and audio recordings from the Star Wars films. As a result the film is chock full of little moments that will make Star Wars fans go crazy as they recognize little background noises that come from the films. And the cameos, let's not forget the cameos. Fanboys has more celebrity cameos than you can shake a stick at. William Shatner, Ray Parks, Billie Dee "Colt 45" Williams, Seth Rogen (in multiple roles) and many more. Even Carrie Fisher pops up.
For anyone who waited in line back in the day or camped out to go see Episode One, this film is a must see. I know it's not playing everywhere and you're probably going to have to travel far to see the film, but believe me it's worth it. It's a film made by Star Wars Fans, for Star Wars fans, about Star Wars fans. It's done lovingly and doesn't mock us too badly, but at the same time it does point out some of our own absurdities. For non Star Wars fans, the film is a cheesy low budget comedy that they probably won't really get most of the jokes to.
Final Grade: B
Favorite Moment: One of the characters kissing Carrie Fisher and telling her he loves her, to which she appropriately responds . . . . . . "I know."
I'm with you on this, Pat. Fun movie. Lots of nostalgia. It's kind of shoddy in terms of filmmaking and some jokes needed better editing, but overall I had a good time. I love the last line of the movie. And I love the Geek Test at the Mansion.
ReplyDeleteSee, I thought the Geek test at the mansion was way too easy. Those were gimmie questions. Why not ask the hard stuff like: What's the trash compactor code on the Death Star? What was the name of the actor who played Bib Fortuna? True or false: John Ratzenberger (the actor who played Cliff Claven from the TV show Cheers) has a role in the Empire Strikes Back.
ReplyDeleteMake the test challenging for god's sake.
And for the record, the answers to those questions are: 3263827, Michael Carter and True.