Fanboys (2009)

New York Times
"There are enough good jokes in FANBOYS, a road comedy about geeks on a STAR WARS-related quest, to satisfy hard-core fans of that George Lucas franchise." 02/06/2009

ReelViews 7 of 10
I wish I could be more positive about Fanboys because I understand what the filmmakers are trying to do. Their goal is to provide a Valentine to fanboys and fangirls worldwide - all those who devote themselves to an element of pop culture and often suffer ridicule for their passion. Unfortunately, while Fanboys has moments of success, it is mostly a middling road picture that doesn't do a lot more than any average, forgettable entry into the tired genre...Fanboys is chock-full of references to everything from comic books to television to video games. The Star Wars references are everywhere, with the Star Trek nods being only a little less pervasive. (Surprisingly, there's not a single Doctor Who mention throughout.) It's clear that the men behind Fanboys know their material. The film jokingly and affectionately pokes fun at fanboy culture, sifting through the cliches to build the characters and their circumstances...However, while Fanboys unquestioningly gets the details right, it's not as strong on the broader elements that make a movie a fully satisfying experience. The cancer subplot, which should have added a layer of bittersweet drama to the road trip, is handled in a perfunctory, unconvincing manner. (At first, I thought it was a hoax to get Eric to agree to accompany his buddies on the trip.) The characters are a little too broadly drawn to capture the average viewer's sympathy. And the movie's humor is along the lines of what one might expect from a neutered version of a Harold and Kumar movie. Some will argue that it's worth enduring all this for the cameos, the filmmakers' insider knowledge of what die-hard fandom represents, and the shots of Kristen Bell in the Princess Leia bikini but, in the final analysis, Fanboys doesn't offer enough for me to give it an unqualified recommendation. - James Berardinelli
 
Chicago Sun-Times 5 of 10
A lot of fans are basically fans of fandom itself. It's all about them. They have mastered the "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" universes or whatever, but their objects of veneration are useful mainly as a backdrop to their own devotion. Anyone who would camp out in a tent on the sidewalk for weeks in order to be first in line for a movie is more into camping on the sidewalk than movies...But enough about my opinions; what about "Fanboys"? Its primary flaw is that it's not critical. It is a celebration of an idiotic lifestyle, and I don't think it knows it. If you want to get in a car and drive to California, fine. So do I. So did Jack Kerouac. But if your first stop involves a rumble at a "Star Trek" convention in Iowa, dude, beam your ass down to Route 66...The movie, set in 1999, involves four "Star Wars" fanatics and, eventually, their gal pal, who have the notion of driving to Marin County, breaking into the Skywalker Ranch, and stealing a copy of a print of "Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace" so they can see it before anyone else..."Fanboys" follows in the footsteps of "Sex Drive" by allowing one of its heroes to plan a rendezvous with an Internet sex goddess. To avoid revealing any plot secrets in this film, I will recycle my earlier warning: In a chat room, don't be too hasty to believe Ms. Tasty..."Fanboys" is an amiable but disjointed movie that identifies too closely with its heroes. Poking a little more fun at them would have been a great idea. They are tragically hurtling into a cultural dead end, mastering knowledge which has no purpose other than being mastered, and too smart to be wasting their time. When a movie's opening day finally comes, and fanboys leave their sidewalk tents for a mad dash into the theater, I wonder who retrieves their tents, sleeping bags, portable heaters and iPod speakers. Warning: Mom isn't always going to be there to clean up after you. - Roger Ebert