A decade ago, in a small town not so far away, fanboys were eagerly anticipating the 1999 release of "Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace." Accurately capturing the excitement leading up to opening night of the prequel, "Fanboys" (2008) is a great spoof and tribute to both the Star Wars films and their fans.
The story follows five 20-something fanboys who are counting down the 200 days until the film hits theaters. One of the geek-friends, Linus (played by Chris Marquette), has terminal cancer, prompting him and his friends, Windows (Jay Baruchel), Hutch (Dan Fogler) and Eric (Sam Huntington), to plan a cross-country trip to break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. Their mission is to get a first look at "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace."
Anyone who saw the first "Star Wars" prequel remembers how it turned out: It wasn't exactly a classic. But "Fanboys" is set in a world pre-Jar Jar and "Mannequin" Skywalker. The Force was back, and fans celebrated by camping out in front of theaters months before the film's release; the anticipation and intense excitement was electric. Since then, though, the new trilogy has been the victim of many deserving jokes, but "Fanboys" does not bash Lucas' mistakes. Instead, it fondly looks back on the excitement that came before the disappointment.
Outside of the "Star Wars" galaxy, "Fanboys" demands a pop-culture savvy audience. The journey has shout-outs to "Willow" (1988) and "THX-1138" (1971) and is sprinkled with cameos by the likes of Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Kevin Smith, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride and, of course, William Shatner. And it seems like Seth Rogen is contractually obligated to appear in any and every comedy nowadays -- "Fanboys" is no exception.
Despite the deluge of cameos, though, the film relies on its cast, who could easily star in a remake of "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984) based on appearance alone. Marquette is perfectly cynical as the dying Linus, while Fogler is exceptionally loud, rude and raunchy -- his talent apparently. "Fanboys" was filmed before Baruchel garnered fame and attention from his Judd Apatow film. Baruchel looks like a dork and can certainly act like one. The always fabulous Kristen Bell delivers a solid performance as one of the "boys," Zoe. She represents the small subculture of fangirls who can get their Jedi on just like those with a Y chromosome.
The comedy of "Fanboys" is genre specific, and fans really need to know not just "Star Wars," but "Star Trek" as well, as the movie makes many jokes about the rivalry between fans of each show. This strategy is good for a few laughs, but has been done in previous films like "Galaxy Quest" (1999) and countless episodes of "Family Guy." Not only has it been done before though, but it's perhaps been done better.
Beyond the droid jokes, "Fanboys" is a standard coming of age film. It is about growing up, moving on and the things that keep us together. In this case, "Star Wars" is more than just a series of geeky films -- it is the true heart of "Fanboys." It is for all those people who dress up year after year as Browncoats for Comic-Con, who argue about whether Han Solo shot first and who wonder if the final cut of "Watchmen" (2009) will feature the squid. It is a geeky movie for a geeky audience, but it reminds everyone what it means to be truly passionate about something, even something like "Star Wars."
