Review: Fanboys (2009)

Director: Kyle Newman

Cast: Sam Huntington (Cavemen), Chris Marquette (Joan of Arcadia), Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury), Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up), Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Veronica Mars)

The Deal: Four friends set out to steal a rough print of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace from George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch to honor the wishes of their dying friend. Their cross-country journey is full of crazy antics and one-liners that only die hard Star Wars fanboys could have.

Thoughts: Let's set some things straight before continuing with this review. This film is in no way intended to be some cinematic achievement, and it isn't. Its entertainment value will most likely only be truly appreciated by the Star Wars fans this was made for, and being a fan of Star Wars and growing up with a brother who is obsessed with it, I had no problem picking up on most every little reference.

The story itself is quite ridiculous, but if you get all their jokes it is fairly funny and entertaining. The number of cameos in this is insane, including some Star Wars alumni as well as well known Star Wars enthusiasts, but the best in my opinion was William Shatner as himself, doing his best to aid the boys just to spite Lucas. The acting is what you'd expect with mostly little known leads, but they are believable as fanboys. I wish Kristen Bell had a larger role, because she not only passed easily as a fangirl, but it made her even more attractive, if that's even possible.

I don't want to spoil too much of the film, but I do really want to share a couple of my favorite bits from the film, so if you don't want to know, then don't read this section. Seth Rogan played a Vegas pimp with a ton of Star Wars tattoos, and he had one on his back of Jar-Jar Binks and young Anakin, to which he says "Jar-Jar Binks, that guy's gonna be the shit, I tell you!" Next is the last line of the film, when they are in the theater as the movie is about to start, and the one says "hey you guys, what if the movie sucks?" Hindsight is really a wonderful thing for these scenes.

Verdict: Fanboys is a film by fanboys for fanboys, plain and simple. If you love Star Wars then you will definitely enjoy this film, but if you never caught on to the craze, it will fall flat. ☆☆☆