Fanboys (2009)

Title: Fan Boys (2009)

Director: Kyle Newman

Review:

So this movie had a bit of a rocky production phase, where first the movie was going to be about a bunch of guys who want to break into George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch so that their cancer ridden friend can see the movie before he dies. But then the films producers said no way, take out the cancer plot and make it about them getting drunk in a Halloween party and deciding to do it. So then they hired a second director to do some reshoots, to eliminate the cancer plot. Internet geeks (more dangerous then your average geek) got a whiff of this decision and decided to start a petition against this.

The movies opening date kept being pushed further and further which is something you dont want to do with your movie cause fanboys and film buffs immediately get suspicious with a film that keeps getting pushed further and further, makes us think theres something wrong with the movie if the studio keeps tinkering with it over and over. Then the fanboys wanted the cancer plot back in the movie! They didnt want the producers to change the plot! Then, disaster struck the production when the guy who was directing the re-shoots (not Kyle Newman the films original director) insulted some fanboys on the internet and called them dumb and stupid and all sorts of insults. As a result the film got the geek community (the films core audience) to turn its back on the film! So then the producers realize the gigantic mistake they made so they decide to give the original director a chance and re-edit the film to include the cancer plot back into the movie and by now you probably have a headache.

I wish all this hoopla over cancer plot or no cancer plot had been worth it. Honestly. I mean, the premise was a good one. Get the ultimate Star Wars Geekazoids to try and break into Skywalker ranch to see Episode I before anyone does. I mean, the possibilities are endless for jokes and silly situations. Would the film have been any better had the character had cancer or not? I dont think so. Cancer is treated so unrealisticly in this movie anyways! The cancer ridden teen is jumping fences with grapling hooks for crying out loud!

Sadly, the real problem with this movie is that the script wasnt really all that funny either. It just didnt really click. It wasnt funny enough. And all this even though the film had George Lucas's seal of approval! All this after Lucas lets them use the bleeps and sounds effects from his movies to make the movie more faithful to the whole Star Wars universe! My main gripe with the film? The script and the cast sucked. Not only was the script not funny enough, it chose the unfunniest young actors on the planet for this movie. Heres an idea: if your script is trying to be funny, but it really isnt all that funny, get yourself a cast of funny young up coming comedians to star in your movie. They might make your wannabe funny script better then it really is! Sadly, we get a Jack Black wannabe (Sorry but thats all Dan Fogler transmits to me with his movies) and three other bland actors (Christ Marquette, Sam Huntington and Jay Baruchel). Add the too beautiful to be with geeks Kristen Bell. And the result is a movie that isnt funny. Jokes fall flat!

In my opinion, the film itself didnt make enough fun of geeks themselves. How hard is it to make fun of geekazoids? Not very hard. Really. They paid too much respect to the geek if you ask me. Insult the target audience, they'll love it! They'l laugh when they see themselves reflected on the characters. This is something that Grandma's Boy got right. Now theres a movie that knew its target audience, made fun of them yet respected them at the same time. By the way, I think Grandma's Boy is incredibly overrated, if you havent seen it and you are a geek/gamer, go rent it right now! You are sure to laugh, something you probably didnt do much of while watching Fanboys.

This film tried really hard, it really did. Maybe a little too hard. They made Harry Knowles a character in the film, a guy who gives the four geeks pointers as to who to meet in order to infiltrate Skywalker Ranch, problem is, its not really Harry Knowles! Its some actor immitating him. They have Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes make a pointless and stupid cameo in the movie. They have two actors from the original Star Wars movies to appear, Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) again two pointless uninspired cameos. Carrie Fisher plays a hospital director who has no problem with letting a terminally ill cancer patient walk out the door, kidnapped by his friends, and she is okay with this because she gives him some magic pills that will make everything alright? That scene reminded me of a scene from a ridiculous movie called Breakin 2 Electric Boogaloo, where the exact same thing happens with a character, only he leaves breakdancing out of the hospital and his broken leg magically heals through the power of breakdancing! Ray Park (Darth Maul himself) appears in the film as one of the security guards inside of George Lucas's home. Not even Shatners cameo saves the film, and thats saying a lot, cause I think Shatners a funny dude.

Theres little touches of coolness here and there. I liked how the security guards in George Lucas's home are the robots from THX-1138, that was a nice touch, only they dont look nowhere nearly as cool as the robots from Lucas's film, which was made way back in 1971! I liked how the geeks van has a ligthspeed button and that they have a little R2 stuck on the vans roof. Some cameos almost worked, for example, Danny McBride who appears as one of the head security guards. Seth Rogen appears as a Star Trek fan who used to be a hard core Star Wars fan who went to the "darkside" of the force. But these little touches come in a little too late in the movie, the film is already a disjointed mess and just doenst click.

You might find this movie mildly enjoyable if you are a Star Wars/Star Trek fan, everybody else will think is ridiculous and unfunny. Star Wars fans will have to stick with Mel Brook's Spaceballs until the next Star Wars comedy comes along. And hey, that aint a bad thing, Spaceballs is genuinly funny.

Rating: 2 out of 5