REVIEW: Fanboys

Jun - 10 | By: Josh Nelson | no comments.

The road movie has long been a staple of American cinema allowing for the exploration of various ideological dilemmas, from political dissonance (Easy Rider) and cultural violence (Bonnie and Clyde, Natural Born Killers), through gender crisis (Thelma & Louise, Sideways) and issues of sexuality (The Doom Generation, Transamerica). While Kyle Newman’s Fanboys is unlikely to provoke analysis as a work of deep cultural commentary, its Star Wars-inspired cross-country jaunt is one very fun ride.

It’s Halloween 1998 and a fan-nation holds its breath in anticipation of the first in George Lucas’ soon-to-be-released and ‘sure-to-be-brilliant’ Star Wars prequels. Propelled by alcohol-infused bravado, a childhood promise and an unexpected revelation, four high school fanboy friends set off across America to break into the Skywalker Ranch and steal the unreleased first print of The Phantom Menace.

Of course, life has never been easy for the true fanboy and the group soon find themselves in the company of a peyote smoking Chief before running afoul of the law and a rabble of angry Trekkies out for honour and revenge. As far as road-trip films go, Fanboys is more Harold & Kumar than Into the Wild but Newman understands his audience and pitches the film accordingly.

Generally eschewing the typical ‘fanboy-as-obsessed-virgin-weirdo’ stereotype, part of what makes Fanboys such a fun experience is the way that Newman effectively has his cake and eats it too-drawing on various aspects of fan culture for laughs (of which there are many) without achieving it at the expense of his characters.

And the cast is a highly likeable bunch of fanatical Star Wars misfits. In particular, Jay Baruchel’s performance as ‘Windows’, a fanboy caught between his dedication to ‘Star Wars’ and the affections of Zoe (Veronica Mars’ Kristen Bell who is perfectly cast as the film’s solo feminine foil) reveals a promise of future roles. But Fanboys also revels in its SF ancestry and features nicely timed cameos from actors such as Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Ray Park, William Shatner, and man-of-the-moment Seth Rogen (who appears in three roles).

While the film could be accused of having a questionable predilection for anal-phobic humour (a gay biker bar and a roadhouse toilet rent boy scene involving Jay & Silent Bob are just two examples), Fanboys is at heart a good natured romp that’s likely to appeal to both out and proud fans and to those who keep their inner-geek locked up and out of sight.