Fanboys
(2008/Genius DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: B- Extras: C+ Feature: C+
It’s a
good time to be a geek. Traditionally
geeky interests such as computers, video games, and science fiction are
becoming more and more mainstream. And,
let’s be honest, by this point geeks practically run the economy. And yet, few of us can lay claim to the sheer
depth and dedication of geekiness as the characters in Fanboys.
This
movie follows a group of friends who have dedicated their lives to celebrating
all aspects of the Star Wars
mythos. But when one of them is
diagnosed with cancer and may not live to see the premiere of Episode 1, the friends embark on an
entirely standard road trip movie peppered with in-jokes and cameos.
All the
standard road trip movie plot points are there: getting stranded at an
unfriendly bar, searching out a long-distance girlfriend, getting arrested,
drive-through window shenanigans, picking a fight and then just barely
escaping, and of course the obligatory detour to Las Vegas.
To be
honest though, the in-jokes and cameos are great. The references to Star Wars may be as simple as a gesture, a sound effect (no Wilhelm
Scream though), or a throwaway line. The
list of cameos, as well, is rather impressive.
The film boasts Danny Trejo, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Ray Park (played
Darth Maul), Ethan Suplee, Danny McBride, William Shatner, and a double cameo
by Seth Rogen that ends in a Rogen-on-Rogen pimp vs. Trekkie throwdown.
The
image, in letterboxed 16:9 widescreen, is decent, but with some noticeable
grain in the picture. On the other hand,
the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is actually rather impressive and considerable
effort was obviously put into the mixing of dialogue, music, and sound effects.
The extra
features are numerous but short, few running more than five minutes. The disc features a reel of deleted scenes
and a commentary track along with four behind-the-scenes featurettes. There is also “Disturbances in the Force: A Series of Webisodes,” which, to be
honest, are really no different than the previous featurettes.
So yes, Fanboys basically amounts to a rehash
of every other road trip movie ever made.
And yes, nerds are a very easy target to pick on. But really, this movie is more a celebration
of geek culture than a mockery of it, and the end product is actually pretty
fun. Certainly this is no masterpiece,
but it’s entertaining and if you happen to be in on the jokes then it’s
definitely worth checking out.
- Matthew Carrick
