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The premise of “Fanboys”: In 1998, a group of diehard
“Star Wars” fanatics decide to drive to Marin County, California,
break into Skywalker Ranch, steal an early print of “Star
Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace,” and see it before
general release the following year. ***
Even within the context of a goofy comedy, this idea
could not be any less plausible. It hints at satire, but
it never goes any further than that because, in order for
satire to work, you actually have to be making fun of something.
“Fanboys” is not constructed like that; it glorifies extreme
fandom, as if it were something to be proud of. It regards
four socially inept people as heroes. Acts of stupidity
are treated not as warnings against that kind of behavior
but as loving tributes to unwavering devotion. ***
So this begs the question: If this movie is so keen
on exalting “Star Wars” super fans, why make it a comedy?
Why have the characters look like complete idiots? Don’t
they deserve better than being depicted as nerdy stereotypes?
***
I recall “Trekkies,” a fascinating documentary from
1997 that explored the “Star Trek” universe and the fans
who inhabit it; that film is a much more tolerable example
of how extreme fandom can be glorified, simply because it
showed real people. Sure, some of them seemed very silly
on camera, but at least they drew from what was actually
within. They weren’t just following along with a juvenile
screenplay. Maybe “Fanboys” would have worked much better
as a documentary about “Star Wars” fans. ***
The story focuses on four twenty-something “Star Wars”
fans from Ohio. Eric (Sam Huntington) works for his father
(Christopher McDonald) at a car dealership. While Eric appears
happy at the prospect of taking over the family business,
his real passion is drawing comic books. So you might say
that being offered his father’s dealership is like being
tempted by the dark side of the Force. *** Anyway, he finds
out that his best friend, Linus (Christopher Marquette),
has been diagnosed with cancer. Knowing that he might not
live to see the release of “The Phantom Menace,” Eric decides
to take Linus on a road trip to Skywalker Ranch, where a
rough cut of the prequel is ready and waiting to be stolen.
***
Along for the ride are two other friends. One is the
spectacled Windows (Jay Baruchel), who hopes to meet the
girl he’s been chatting with online, the one who provided
him with blueprints to Skywalker Ranch. ***
The other is Hutch (Dan Fogler), who drives a black
van decked out with various “Star Wars” accents, including
an R2-D2 dome, a paintjob of the first film’s poster, and
a forbidden red button on the dashboard that can blast the
engine into light speed. The only out-of-place touch: A
collection of Rush albums, all on audiocassette tapes. ***
Hutch runs a comic book store and still lives in his
mother’s garage. He calls it a carriage house, which is
about the same as calling a basement a subterranean chamber.
***
There comes a point when they’re joined by Zoey (Kristen
Bell), who, as far as Windows is concerned, represents a
paradox: She’s a beautiful young woman, and yet she’s a
“Star Wars” fan. Just as paradoxical is the fact that she’s
beautiful and has a crush on Windows. It seems he’s allowed
to lust after beautiful girls, but beautiful girls aren’t
allowed to like him for who he is. ***
As they travel, they make a couple of interesting pit
stops, the first being a town in Iowa where fanatical “Star
Trek” enthusiasts gather at a statue of James Kirk and Khan
(neither of which bear a likeness to the actors who played
them). This paves the way for one of the films worst scenes,
in which our four friends get into a brutal fight with a
group of people dressed in Starfleet uniforms. ***
This plays into the fact that there’s a blood feud between
fans of the franchises, which only further demonstrates
the depth to which fandom can sink. If you have to duke
it out with someone for not liking something you like, you’re
taking your passion far too seriously. It’s one thing to
be a fan of something. It’s quite another thing to let devotion
consume your life. ***
The real problem here is that “Fanboys” is like a spoof
that forgot to make fun of what it was spoofing. The characters
have personality quirks that are inherently funny, yet we
can’t laugh at them because they’re treated as heroes, not
as comedy relief. ***
The only hint of true satire comes in the form of cameo
appearances, and even then it doesn’t work because the actors
are not given anything important to do. Seth Rogen, Kevin
Smith, and Jason Mewes show up at certain points, as do
“Star Wars” alumni Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, and
Ray Park (a.k.a., the guy who played Darth Maul). One cameo
I won’t reveal is a source that goes by the code name Scruffy
Nerf-Herder. ***
What I find absolutely amazing is that George Lucas
approved of this film. Did he not realize that it was anything
but a tribute to “Star Wars” and its fans? If anything,
it’s a painfully unfunny look at how fandom can spin out
of control. ***
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