Fanboys (2009)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Admirable film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The problem with Fanboys is that it's an unbalanced mix of locker room humor, science fiction references and attempts at drama. The whole movie seems full of half-baked ideas that were rushed into production. There were a few laugh-out-loud moments and several fun references, but overall I would not recommend seeing this movie.

What's nice about "Fanboys" is that it takes us back to that pre-"Episode I" period when Star Wars fans weren't divided along trilogy lines (if you've spent much time on the Internet in the last, let's say 14 years, you'll know what I'm talking about). It was an innocent time, believe it or not.The charm of this movie is due to its cast. Our five heroes are a likable group of actors. Jay Baruchel, Dan Fogler and Kristen Bell get the best lines, and seeing Bell take down Fogler in a headlock was pretty funny. I do love her character's spunk. And the filmmakers went to some lengths fill out the rest with famous faces (the names here will surprise you). A lot of the humor here rests on cheap gags and a few tired jokes (most of which is aimed at the die-hards in the audience), but for the most part, "Fanboys" is a fun road trip.6/10

I really liked this movie. I was a bit worried at first, because I know nearly nothing about Star Wars, except for the fact that Luke and Leia are brother and sister, Darth Veder is Luke Skywalker's dad, Leia wears a gold bikini, and C3PO looks like Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. But, don't worry. If you've seen every Star Wars movie, none of them, some of them, or if you're like me, watched twenty minutes of Episode IV and have never finished it, you will like this movie.This movie is about a group of Star Wars loving friends in the 1990s. It's almost time for Star Wars Episode I to come out and they couldn't be more excited. Well, they could if their friend hadn't been diagnosed with a deadly illness. I think cancer, but I'm not completely sure. Anyway, his last wish is to see that movie. But he worries that he'll be gone by the time it comes out. So he and his friends travel to the Skywalker Ranch, in hopes of stealing a copy and watching it. In the end, they get caught, but George Lucas lets the dying boy watch the movie. Several months later, his friends go see it, and the last part of the movie is someone saying, something like, "I hope this doesn't suck" or "This is going to be awesome". One of those, sorry, I can't remember. Overall, I give this movie an 8 out of 10.

Here is a film for the Star Wars geeks out there and only them. The story follows a group of five Star Wars obsessed friends in 1998 setting off on their own journey across the country to break in George Lucas's ranch and steal a copy of PHANTOM MENACE for an early screening. The original motivation for the endeavor is that one of the friends, Linus (Chris Marquette), has cancer and might not be around for it's theatrical release. It's a nice touch that could've added extra meaning behind the crazy plan of breaking into Lucas's home, but unfortunately its a fact that's breezed over and rarely mentioned over the course of the film. There had been reports of consistent trouble in the post-production process and studio interference that resulted in a lot of the cancer subplot being removed; if so, that's a shame because I think it could've only strengthened the plot, putting more meaning into their drastic actions.Nearly all of the humor in the film is related to the original epic trilogy and, while casual fans will understand a good deal of the references, I'm sure even more of the jokes will go right over their heads. A lot of the laughs come from throwbacks to iconic moments (the malfunctioning hyperdrive on the Falcon/Hutch's "lightspeed" on the van failing to function) and from the cameos scattered throughout the movie. All the best parts of the film are from the cameos dropping by in every other scene: Danny Trejo, Seth Rogen (in not one, but three bit parts), Ethan Suplee, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, and a few key cameos that I'm not going to spoil here for those who plan to see the movie (the best being the "inside man" who supplies the information to get into Lucas's ranch).The cameos really steal the show in this movie (and there's practically one in every other scene) but the core cast certainly does a great job on their own. The central group of actors do such a good job and appear to be having so much fun that I wouldn't be surprised if they were Star Wars geeks off-set as well. It was a good idea casting actors who could almost be considered unknowns, most of them recognizable for past projects but far from being big names (with exceptions). Sam Huntington is the team's straight-man, Eric, who abandoned his friends after high school in favor of a job with his father's used car lot. Chris Marquette is Linus, the cancer-stricken friend providing the backbone for the whole motivation of the film; despite his cancer subplot being brushed under the carpet, his long-standing disappointment with Eric over giving up on their dream to start their own comic remains as the main point of contention to add some sort of conflict to their trip. Dan Fogler is easily the funniest cast member as the friend who continues to live in his mom's garage (sorry, "carriage house") and has the souped-up Star Wars van complete with R2-D2 poking out the top. Finally, Jay Baruchel as über-nerd Windows and Zoe Bell as the fangirl with an attitude round of the rest of the team.The movie is funny but the problem lies in that it targets a niche audience. People who aren't at least casual fans of the Star Wars movies might watch this and wonder what everyone else is laughing at. It's funny enough for us fans though that it makes for an entertaining movie the first time through, but repeated viewings don't stand up as well because the cameo surprises are old news and the trivia moments don't hold up.