In a galaxy far, far away (Ohio), five young Jedi warriors (nerds) begin a journey across the country to battle the dark side (Star Trek fans, the police and an angry pimp) and reach Skywalker Ranch to see Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace before anyone else.
In Fanboys, childhood friends Linus, Hutch and Windows reunite with Eric, who they’ve lost touch with since he grew out of the Star Wars phase, and set forth to California to break into George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch to see the coveted film. Along the way, they are joined by their friend Zoe, played by Kristen Bell.
Zoe represents the ultimate nerd-girl fantasy – cute, smart, into comic books and all things science fiction.’ The characters of Hutch, Linus and Windows exemplify nerd clich’eacute;s, from working a comic store, quoting movies and collecting Star Wars memorabilia to Hutch’s ‘Death Star’ like van. The van only plays music from the band Rush, another stereotypical nerd staple.
The film is Superbad for the comic book crowd – a teen comedy that has big laughs and a bigger heart. The supporting cast in Fanboys have all been seen before and includes memorable cameos from Seth Rogen, Billy Dee Williams, William Shatner, Kevin Smith, Jamie King, Carrie Fisher, Danny Trejo and many others.
Popular movie Web site personality Harry Knowles is also portrayed in the film. The scene is comic gold for anyone who has ever visited Knowles’ aintitcool.com, a home base for fanboys and movie buffs alike.
Director Kyle Newman is able to use Fanboys to pull at the strings of everyone’s inner nerd.’ Everyone has an obsession, a guilty pleasure or an interest to be fanatical about, and if you were told otherwise, that would be a lie.’
What is the difference between a hot chick in your class who loves ‘Sex and the City’ and a guy in a Nintendo t-shirt sitting behind her?’ Guilty pleasure. A popular jock may like Superman just as much as you do, but will never fully admit it in public.
Fanboys is a film for everyone. The underdog or the overachiever can both enjoy it equally. It evokes the audience not be ashamed of whatever it is they are fascinated with.
Fanboys know more about their films than 90 percent of the audience, anyway.’ If knowledge is power, fan boys and girls may not look very buff, but their wealth of information is strong. May the force be with you
Fanboys
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell, Dan Fogler
Verdict: An appealing film , even if you don’t own a pocket protector.
