By Liz Spencer
Rating:
Movie– Fanboys
Written– Ernest Cline and Adam F. Goldburg
Rated– PG-13 for crude humor, sexual material, and drug content
Genre: Comedy
Recommend: Recommended to anyone who loves anything Star Wars or comedy lovers. WARNING: There is Star Trek bashing in the film, so if you’re a die-hard Star Trek fan this may not be the movie for you; however there is a small cameo of Captain James T. Kirk, William Shatner.
Cast–
Eric- Sam Huntington
Linus- Chris Marquette
Hutch- Dan Fogler
Windows- Jay Baruchel
Zoey- Kristen Bell
Welcome to the first installment of Liz’s Flick Picks. To kick things off, I’ll start with a movie that started off as a little film that has been spread all over the globe by the fans of Star Wars. And with Star Wars Episode 1 the Phantom Menace coming out in 3D last week, I thought it was a good place to start.
It was 13 years ago when fans of the Star Wars trilogy awaited for the next installment of the saga. Fanboys takes place in 1998 in a small town in Ohio. Eric Bottler (Sam Huntington) hasn’t seen his childhood friends Hutch (Dan Fogler), Windows (Jay Baruchel), Zoey (Kristen Bell) and Linus (Chris Marquette) for a long time until at a Halloween Party where their paths crossed again. When Eric finds out that his former best friend Linus is dying of cancer, he decides to do something that they were planning since the first grade… break in to Skywalker Ranch and steal a copy of Star Wars Episode 1 the Phantom Menace. This road trip has its twist and turns; Fanboys is a classic comedy for the inner Star Wars fan in all of us.
Fanboys did not disappoint when it came to comedy, but is not suitable for younger viewers. There are some scenes where there is use of language especially when the main characters encounter Star Trekkies. The Trekkies and Star Wars fans indeed have their differences throughout the film. There are moments where they literally get into a brawl in the middle of a park after a disagreement over the two films.
Unlike The Hangover the story behind Fanboys has heart behind it. They are motivated to get their dying friend Linus to see Episode 1 before he is gone. Nothing stops these guys from accomplishing their goal.
Fanboys had many cameos throughout the film. Seth Rogan makes not one, not two, but three cameos in the film. There were also three cameos of people who were in Star Wars. The doctor at the hospital was played by Princess Leia, Carrie Fisher. The judge was played by the smooth Lando Calrissian, Billy Dee Williams. One of the security guards was played by everyone’s favorite red skinned, black tattooed Sith, Darth Maul, Ray Park.
The storyline was very unique and clever. It was very heartwarming tale about a group of friends, die-hard fans of Star Wars, not leaving a friend with a terminal disease behind. Fanboys isn’t about 30-year-old men hitting each other with plastic light sabers. Fanboys is about former friends coming together to enjoy something they all love, Star Wars.