Review of Fanboys (2009) by Trevor R — 22 Jun 2010
People who've seen "Fanboys" are divided into two camps: those who appreciate it for its frequent references to and quotations from the original "Star Wars" trilogy...and me.
My reason for disliking "Fanboys"' "Star Wars"-centricity is twofold. First, many of its references are too obvious to be witty and too conveniently placed to feel truly organic. The script never really evolves beyond verbatim film quotations which fit nicely within its contrived situations. Kevin Smith consistently dodges this bullet by having his characters discuss the "Star Wars" canon much more theoretically and critically. (Somehow, THAT works for me). Second, the whole concept of "Star Wars" fandom as portrayed by the film is sort of skewed. The characters' knowledge of the Expanded Universe (which even in 1998 was already fairly robust) is basically nonexistent, or at least unexplored. And no fanboy cliche - virginity, social awkwardness, crossover nerdiness, Trekkie standoffishness - goes unnoticed. I dunno...somehow all of that rubs me the wrong way. Maybe, as a longtime "Star Wars" geek, I feel a little misrepresented.
"Fanboys" does redeem itself somewhat with a likable central cast (Jay Baruchel, Sam Huntington, Kristen Bell), an endless supply of sci-fi luminaries (Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Bill Shatner) and current-gen comedy stars (Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Ethan Suplee, and Will Forte, to name a few). Awesome.
My real problem with the film is that it uses "Star Wars" as a sort of lens that brackets the story's real central conflict: how young friends deal with loss and separation. This theme is never fully realized because the film is often too busy stroking its own ego by making "Star Wars" jokes.
"Fanboys" is decent, but nothing to get excited about.
Or maybe I just hate fun.
This review of Fanboys (2009) was written by Trevor R on 22 Jun 2010.
Fanboys has generally received positive reviews.
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