Fanboys (2008)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Kyle Newman

Writers (WGA):

Ernest Cline (screenplay) and
Adam F. Goldberg (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 February 2009 (Iceland)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Never tell them the odds.

Plot:

Star Wars fans travel to Skywalker Ranch to steal an early copy of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). |

Plot Keywords:

Travel | Fan | Star Wars | Comic Book Shop | Costume

Cast

Sam Huntington	...	Eric
Chris Marquette	...	Linus
Dan Fogler	...	Hutch
Jay Baruchel	...	Windows
Kristen Bell	...	Zoe
David Denman	...	Chaz
Christopher McDonald	...	Big Chuck (as Chris McDonald)
Charlie B. Brown	...	Myron
Isaac Kappy	...	Garfunkel
Stephen Pina	...	Simon
Seth Rogen	...	Admiral Seasholtz / Alien / Roach
Thom Bishops	...	The Vulcan / Gruvock
Clark Sanchez	...	Bartender
Stanley Shunkamolah	...	Thick-Necked Thug
Danny Trejo	...	The Chief

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for pervasive crude and sexual material, language and drug content.

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

New Mexico, USA

Company:

Trigger Street Productions

Trivia:

The "Fanboys" theatrical release poster (the unidentified male in a knit shirt looking toward his right shoulder in a Darth Vader helmet, against an orange sunburst background) is a spoof of the theatrical release poster for The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) (with 'Steve Carrell' appearing in similar clothing and posing against a similar background), the idea being conveyed that fan boys are the quintessential "40-year-old virgins".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the comic book store an issue of B.P.R.D. is shown in a number of shots. This comic book came out far later than 1997.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Hutch: [as Stormtrooper] Halloween just got awesome, bitches!
Linus: [as Stormtrooper] Prepare for the entrance of Lord Vader.
Windows: [as Darth Vader] Give yourself to the Dark Side. It's the only way you can save your...

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Star Wars (1977)

Soundtrack:

39 Southbound

"It was never about the movie, it was about us"

Indeed it was. It was about the fans of Star Wars, this film was practically made for Star Wars fans. It's such a shame that this movie didn't get a wider release across North America..a 6 million dollar budget and only got 760k in gross revenue.

The director, Kyle Newman is clearly a Star Wars fan and he knew what he was making. Ever since I saw the trailer for this movie on the Clerks 2 DVD, I knew I was dead set on seeing this since day one. So I waited, and I waited, and I waited and, well, you get the point. The day finally came for me to see the movie. But not in theaters, I waited for it to come to blue-ray.

I felt really good after watching it. I was in such a great mood because of this film. I expected it to be funnier because it's a 2006 film that had so many re-adjustments to the script, but I can understand where the director was going with this film.

I had a good laugh at all the Star Wars one-liner references to the original trilogy, and I never knew about Harry Knowles, but it is true, he really is a major fan. Apparently, this plot of stealing the rough cut of The Phantom Menace is referenced to Harry Knowles at Aintitcoolnews.com for stealing the actual rough cut of Star Wars and posting it on his website. If he did that, then shame on you Harry, you're a thief, I hope your website gets shutdown for good one day.

Fanboys had one little flaw, Seth Rogen playing the southern accent p/imp who also happens to be a Star Wars fan. His character was really annoying in the hotel scene. But Kirsten Bell, that hot beauty makes up for his parts, we get to see her behind. He did play the "Trekkie" part very well though. It was spot-on. I'm sure Trekkies all over are pretty angry, but we all know STAR WARS IS BETTER THAN STAR TREK. Clearly. There was a scene of sadness in the movie, near the end, kinda tore me up inside. I couldn't relate to it, but I do miss my old friends, my first few friends that I used to spend weekends playing Nintendo 64 with and watching the latest Leslie Neilson movie. That's why this movie brings nostalgia into play. You can clearly see it in some of the set designs. The car, that guys garage, oops..sorry, I meant carriage.

The last line of the movie was pretty funny, kinda bad to be put there, and kinda good. It was bad because of all the events that lead up to the ending and it was good because it made fun of everyone who hated Episode 1. But it's kinda funny if you hated the first film, which I didn't by the way. In the end result, this movie gets a 10/10 for originality, and for appealing to not only Star Wars fans, but anyone who still has love for the era they grew up in. This movie was for you and me. I'm proud to say that I can watch this movie again and again and still want to continue watching it again the next day. Go buy this movie if you don't have it, it's worth the money and wait. Don't listen to the reviews, especially the Ebert tools. I recommend this for everyone. It manages to have an original plot, with some light humor, but all that makes sense for the situation, and a little sense of nostalgia in it.

Kyle Newman, if you're reading this, you made a very good movie, I hope you can make more films like this. This is one of those movies you should watch before you die, clearly.