Fanboys

I've never really been too hardcore of a fan for anything....
I mean, I guess I've been a lifelong fan of Nintendo and, yes, I've gone as far to as to argue with people online over the company's merits; but I don't, for instance, necessarily know a lot of obscure Big N trivia, and I certainly don't run out and buy every game it releases (not by a long shot), as some dudes do. I just kind of like em, you know?

So, could I be classified as a Nintendo FANBOY, per se???

In my opinion, not really.

(OK, so maybe I'm more than just a casual admirer....)

Other than that, I guess I've always lacked the ability to get so TOTALLY into something that I learn as much about it as possible and devote a great deal of time to its study (OK, there WAS, admittedly, that unhealthy obsession I had a few years back with Keira Knightley, but let's not count that).

Anyway, look -- I've got MULTIPLE interests to pursue here; I'm a busy man! I simply cannot be spending all my time getting all into one specific thing, as that requires far more discipline and dedication than I am capable of mustering. Hey, someone with MY attention span is barely able to write a lousy blog entry, let alone stay a consistently devoted fan of something specific!


Yet, I actually kind of admire folks who can get all gung ho about a particular TV show, movie series, or video game. I've dealt with nerds along those lines in the past, and struggled to fit in with them. I want to be a part of their community. Yes, I admit it -- there have been times in my life when I seriously couldn't even fit in with NERDS. Believe me, I tried.

I remember in the ninth grade, there was this dude named Dan in my English class. Since I was a loser on every conceivable level, I liked Dan because he was actually willing to talk to me. However, our friendship never really blossomed, as it turned out that Dan was SUPER into Japanese animation and PC gaming.

Sure, I made an attempt to understand and enjoy those things as much as he did, but simply couldn't get into them. In fact, I went as far as to pretend to Dan that I had a grasp on computer technology (still very new at that time, around 1994), even though I didn't, and only succeeded in screwing up my dad's brand new HP machine trying to install a copy of Wolfenstein that Dan had given me. Dad was REALLY mad about that, and I didn't mess with a computer again for another four years or so....

And then there was the Japanamation (now most commonly known as Anime) problem. Dan loaned me several videotapes of Japanese cartoons, and no matter how hard I tried, I just didn't find them all that enjoyable to watch. Sure, there was some perverted nudity in some of these flicks, but that was really the only point of interest for me, and there wasn't enough of it to keep me sufficiently engaged. The inescapable truth was that, at that time in my life, I was really only interested in listening to Nirvana and ogling girls; I was totally unable to hang with Dan, and we drifted apart pretty quick.


So, when I see a movie like the one I'm about to discuss, I feel an odd sense of longing. I WISH I could roll with the sorts of dudes depicted here. Yes, I know it's pathetic, but it would be nice to feel I belong to a group like theirs, even they're if all a bunch of total losers.

Sigh....

Fanboys (2008)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489049/


Netflix description:
They've waited years for the release of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. But when one of their own discovers he's terminally ill, a group of pals embarks on a road trip to Skywalker Ranch to steal the long-anticipated film. Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel and Kristin Bell star in director Kyle Newman's labor of geek love featuring cameos from Star Wars alums Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher and Ray Park.

Indeed, Fanboys is about a group of four hardcore freaks (circa 1995) who make a road trip to the home of George Lucas in a bid to break in and screen his latest entry to the Star Wars series, sight unseen. These guys are REALLY desperate....

But there's a good reason for it: one of them is dying. Yeah, one of these total Star Wars nerds has some sort of horrible disease, and he's likely to expire before Episode I actually gets a theatrical release. That's why the group decides to go as far as commit B&E just to see a stupid movie. Linus (the sick one) has waited years to see the new Star Wars, and now he's just gonna DIE a few months before it comes out??? Funk DAT!

So, yeah -- they all take an epic road trip out to California (or wherever) to the George Lucas ranch so that Linus can check it out before he kicks the bucket. Along the way, our hapless heroes run into a variety of ridiculous situations that all somehow tie into one nerd interest or another. Let's see, they get into a fight with a bunch of Trekkies; they get a beat down from a Star Wars obsessed mechanic; they run into William Shatner, Carrie Fisher, and Billy Dee Williams....Pretty wink-wink-nudge-nudge stuff, really.


Now, I know that Fanboys got almost universally negative reviews, and I can certainly understand why. It's simply not a motion picture for everyone. STILL, I found this film to be an absolute hoot with a lot of heart.

The inside geek jokes simply don't stop, and delightful cameos abound. From Kevin Smith to Seth Rogan to Danny Trejo, they're just unrelenting. Even though I am not a nerd of the caliber that this film aims to please, I beamed widely several times as I watched the absurd action unfold in Fanboys. It all made me (oddly enough) very happy.

And I learned an important lesson from Fanboys, too: Kristen Bell is insanely, ridiculously, hot. I mean, WOW. This woman is a national treasure. She plays the (extremely) unlikely girlfriend of one of our nerd heroes, and I sat with wide eyes glued to her every scene. Friends, Kristen Bell is so hot that it boggles the mind. She is so hot that it caused me to question the very fabric of the universe. She is so hot that I wish she'd appear in more movies that I'd be interested in seeing. Va va VOOM, Miss Bell!


Anyway, the plot of Fanboys may be over the top, but whatever. I mean, this here is a dork fantasy, OK??? FANTASY. It's SUPPOSED to be unrealistic!

I really enjoyed this little movie. Geek performances across the board are charming, and I even felt a slight twitch of emotion at the end when we learn that, indeed, Linus has died (oops -- I forgot to say SPOILER). This whole experience is a joyous celebration of the culture I've never been able to fully penetrate. I, personally, exist on the fringes of extreme nerddom, but find it to be highly intriguing. Fanboys gave me a nice introduction into some of the more absurd aspects of that sort of life.

If you have any sympathy at all for geeks, I recommend Fanboys. It is a triumph of all things Loser. Check this one out, whydonchya?

4 out of 5.

b.