Fanboys
Starring: Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Kristen Bell, Jay Baruchel, Dan FoglerDirector: Kyle Newman
Year of Release: 2008
I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this movie but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s good movie with a genuine feel for the Star Wars fan community. The story is centered around a group of 5 hardcare Star Wars fans in 1998 who go on a cross-country road trip to break into Skywalker Ranch to watch the rough cut of Episode 1 because their friend Linus has cancer and is not expected to live long enough to see it in the theaters.
As expected, the movie is filled with Star Wars-related humor and jokes aimed at the hardcore fan. But it never panders or makes fun of the fans. It’s done with respect, and the cast pulls it off flawlessly. Plus the film has a ton of really great cameos from Billy D. Williams, Carrie Fisher, William Shatner, Kevin Smith and several brilliant characters played by Seth Rogen. You get the sense that everyone just wanted to make something fun about a subject they love and grew up with.
One interesting point is that the film is set before the prequel series came out. Many of the hardcore fans were very disappointed by those films and some argue they diminished the whole Star Wars genre, especially the first one in all of it’s Jar-Jar, little kid Darth Vader goodness. And the movie ends with the question, “Dude, what if the movie sucks?” So in a sense, 1998 may have been the last time hardcore faithful could revel in “classic” Star Wars without the stigma of Episodes 1-3.
You don’t have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this movie but it would definitely help. Overall it’s a good flick!
