Four childhood friends, Star Wars geeks all, embark on a cross-country road trip to the Skywalker Ranch in order to steal a copy of Star Wars Episode 1 in order to be the first ones to see the film.

CRITIQUE

What separates Fanboys from other films of its type (those teen/college road trip flicks) is that, unlike the others, Fanboys actually has a well rounded group of kids who are all likable, even at their most vulgar.  And while Fanboys does have the requisite drug/bodily function humor, the film doesn’t rely on it to carry the film. The film has a real story, one with lots of heart.

Eric (Sam Huntington,) Linus (Chris Marquette,) Hutch (Dan Fogler,) and Windows (Jay Baruchel) have been friends (and Star Wars fanatics) for a long time. However, after High School, Eric began to drift apart from his friends, finding himself trapped by his responsibility at his father’s used car lot.  And with his father about to give him the keys to the “empire,” Eric’s life has started to take off. 

However, a chance encounter with his friends at a Halloween party leaves Eric questioning his fate, and the added revelation that his best friend Linus is dying of cancer, throws him even further for a loop.  His solution: get his friends together by going on a road trip to Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of Star Wars: Episode 1 before the film is theatrically released.  However, like all road trips, things quickly turn disastrous, forcing their hot but geeky gal pal Zoe (Kristen Bell) to rescue them.

Although I enjoy this film and its tribute to fandom, the biggest problem I have with Fanboys is that it doesn’t really have any teeth.  While there is some vulgar humor (at a PG-13 level) the humor is pretty tame and lacks any real satirical bite.  There are many jokes made at the expense of Trekkers (not Trekkies…I’ll be nice to ‘em, since they do get one hell of a beating in this film) but the film ultimately shies away from just how obsessed “true” fans from both camps can be.

The film does have a fair share of in jokes and cameos, both from Star Wars, Star Trek, and geek culture in general.  Star Wars alum Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, and Ray Park all have minor roles, Seth Rogan appears in three roles (two obvious, one not so,) William Shatner appears as himself as do Keven Smith and Jason Mewes. The best in joke, hands down, involves Skywalker Ranch security and the robots from THX-1138.

It’s far from perfect, but Fanboys is a wonderfully entertaining love letter to Star Wars and fandom in general.

THE VIDEO

Fanboys is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks really good. There are a few moments in the film that do stand out (the opening crawl and a brief moment when the kids get high on p\eyote) that were obviously added for the DVD release, and were not part of the original film negative. But overall there are no digital artifacts, nor any detectible grain.

THE AUDIO

The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and sounds good. The mix is good although there are only a few moments that fully utilize the full surround.

THE EXTRAS

Commentary with the Cast and Crew: The entire cast and director Kyle Newman sit down to joke about the film.  While there is a good deal of information given about the film, the bulk of the commentary is dedicated to the cast having a good time joking about their experiences on the film.

Deleted Scenes: A few deleted scenes (including an alternate Skywalker Ranch interrogation sequence.)

The Truth about Fanboys: An interview laden making of featurette, nothing too informative, but not bad either.

Star Wars Parallel: A look at how the characters parallel characters in Star Wars.

4 Fanboys and 1 Fangirl: The guys and Gal geeking out on set.

Disturbances in the Force: A series of webisodes showing random behind the scenes goodness.

The Choreography: A look at how much choreography went into the strip club dance sequence.

FINAL THOUGHT

Although Fanboys could have used some teeth, it is still a pleasant road trip comedy/love letter to fandom.