With its release on DVD I’d thought I I would share my review:
Synopsis: STAR WARS zealots, rejoice, for thy movie is at hand: an odyssey across America with a van full of hardcore science-fiction-loving geeks that drop STAR WARS quotes at the drop of a vintage… STAR WARS zealots, rejoice, for thy movie is at hand: an odyssey across America with a van full of hardcore science-fiction-loving geeks. Their mission: to infiltrate Skywalker ranch–or die trying–and heist a pre-release print of THE PHANTOM MENACE. Oh, the days before screeners and work prints would show up on bit torrent sites. The days when you could still get surprised… before every website and blog nitpicked and spoiled ever detail. The days of old when Star Wars Episode 1 was something we wanted to see.
The long, long history of a movie being made: Make a movie about the release of Star Wars The Phantom Menace? Sounds simple…right? Well, the history of this film is a story to itself. Too bad the filmers of Lost in La Mancha weren’t there to catch it all. The film was originally to be released on August 17, 2007. The movie was pushed back once more to January 2008 because director Kyle Newman was given more funding to shoot additional scenes. Getting the cast back together would only be possible in September 2007, thus the movie’s release date had to be moved to 2008. The movie was again pushed back because the reshoots could not take place before November/December 2007. After George Lucas was given an advanced screening he offered the original Star Wars sound effects for use in the movie. Hollywood’s resident fanboy filmmaker Kevin Smith also viewed an early version of the film and asked for (and was given) a cameo in the film. ( He originally was supposed to play Harry Knowles but so was Jorge Garcia aka Hurley from Lost.) On January 14, web blogger The CineManiac broke the story that the movie was being re-edited to remove the cancer plot from the movie and replace much of it with raunchy, vulgar humor. Upon hearing about the changes being made to the movie, dedicated Star Wars fanboys united and started an internet ( no surprised there) campaign where fans rebel against the plot changes and demand that the original version that includes the cancer storyline be released in theaters The final cut of the film was screened on July 24, 2008, in San Diego at Comic-Con It was announced there that Fanboys would be released to theaters on September 19, 2008 On Sep 4, 2008 a new release date was announced: November 26, 2008. The final release date was pushed to February 6, 2009. Then more select cities were added later. (Fuck…it’s amazing it didn’t go straight to DVD).
Review. This movie is for fanboys by fanboys. I took my girlfriend who liked it but hated Kristen Bell’s wig so much she lost interest in it. Due to the limited release we had to drive nearly an hour to see it. We were delayed from the opening due to the weather but we made it finally. We arrived at an old style theater without stadium seating and the nine thousand types of overpriced candies. The kind of theater that is nearly gone in America. The type of theater you may have seen Star Wars in. Somehow it was fitting.
It has been awhile since I watched a movie that made me laugh several times and held my attention throughout the movie. I make no pretense though, this movie is for Star Wars fans. The casual fan may enjoy it but the audience is for the diehard fans. Never does this movie talk down to the audience or try to explain the phenomenon of Star Wars. Either you have loved Star Wars from the first viewing and went back and saw it as many times as you could or you didn’t. And for those of that did, it was our first love. Star Wars came into our lives and then left us wanting more, and we didn’t get more it until 1998. Fanboys picks up right there. Six months before the release of Episode 1. Old friends are reunited, and an adventure awaits them that will change their lives. Eric (Sam Huntington), Windows (Jay Baruchel), Zoe (Kristen Bell), Linus (Chris Marquette) and Hutch (Dan Fogler), hit the open road from Ohio to California on a mission to steal a print of Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace from George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch. Each of those teenagers has their own issues to deal with. Eric doesn’t want to be a part of his dad’s business at a car dealership and would rather be a comic book artist. Linus is terminally ill with cancer. Zoe must come to terms with the fact that even though she’s in love with a guy, he’s just not that into her. ( A weak ass plot point and a wate of Kristen Bell.) Hutch wants to move out of his mother’s garage while Windows feels like a dorky, social outcast and plans to meet his online girlfriend during the road trip. The actors seem to be having a great time in their roles, so their comic energy and enthusiasm often radiates from the screen. There are several guest stars ( I won’t list them here but they are in the trailer on Youtube.) and scenes that seem to have been inserted into the loose plot but it works. Co-screenwriters Ernest Cline and Adam F. Goldberg do a great job of blending outrageous humor with tongue-in-cheek and witty humor from the very first scene until the last, although there are a few scenes that tend to fall flat with recycled and forced ( no pun intended) humor. As funny as Fanboys often is, it’s not particularly graceful — possibly because it had a troubled production history.
Would you really want a The 40 Year old Virgin meets Han Solo geek-fest to feel state of the art?
IMDB Page: Fanboys