Fanboys

A surprisingly funny movie about a group of geeks who set off on a mission to break into Skywalker Ranch and view a print of the as-yet-unreleased latest installment in the "Star Wars" saga, "The Phantom Menace."

This is a road trip comedy of the fairly standard variety, with trips to jail and Vegas, some drug use, some Internet hookups and some prostitutes thrown in for good measure. The film looks like it was made for about $20 and certainly doesn't break any new ground. But the cast of actors is game and look like they're having a ball -- there's an especially hilarious sequence that features Seth Rogen in disguise as leader of an army of rival Trekkies. I can't really imagine anyone who doesn't have a pretty thorough knowledge of "Star Wars" trivia enjoying this film, because virtually every shot and line includes some sort of reference to the George Lucas series. But since I'm a "Star Wars" fan, I thought it was a hoot.

Grade: A

If you're a geek this movie is for you. If you're a Star Wars geek this movie totally is for you. Basically it's a movie about Star Wars geeks made by Star Wars geeks for a target audience of Star Wars geeks. If you are not into all things Star Wars this movie may well miss the mark with you. And even the most rabid of Star Wars fans would have to concede that the movie is certainly not anything spectacular. It's fairly charming and reasonably amusing but never really riotously funny. But it works. More or less.

The movie is set in the autumn of 1998, a time before Jar Jar Binks had been foisted upon the world. Four friends, major Star Wars geeks all, decide to drive across the country, break into Skywalker Ranch and steal a rough cut of The Phantom Menace. The major motivation for this journey is that one of the friends has cancer and will not live to see the movie released. But once that is established the cancer storyline is basically put on the back burner and this turns into a mostly predictable wacky road-trip comedy. Some of the wackiness works, some of it falls flat. There are a bunch of celebrity cameos thrown in, some of which are inspired and some of which are rather random and pointless. So it's a movie which has its ups and downs. But it's enjoyable more often than not and the movie breezes by in a nice, tight, well-paced 90 minutes.

None of the actors playing our gang of four really stand out in any memorable way. Dan Fogler's character is a little more outrageous than the others but that's about it. But the group works together well and they are ably supported by the varied cast of characters who pop up throughout. Seth Rogen's portrayal of a pimp is one of the standouts. Of course this ode to Star Wars fans wouldn't be complete without taking some shots at Trekkies. So there's room for another funny turn by an actor portraying Admiral Seasholtz, an uber-Trekkie. Who is the unrecognizable actor memorably bringing this character to life? You may have to wait until the closing credits roll to figure it out. And in this Star Wars geek universe there's room for one girl and Kristen Bell is both charming and funny in the role as her character gets swept along for the ride. Could the movie be a little more consistently funny? Most definitely. But the movie about Star Wars geeks will probably leave you with a smile on your face. Especially if you're a Star Wars geek yourself.

Although this product is far from inventive, or full of carefully orchestrated comedy. It is by no matter of means, slow and boring. If anything, it makes the time fly.

The humour is rather stupid and vulgar, but if you're even close to being a sci-fi geek yourself, or able to appreciate how hilarious this kind of archetype can be. You won't be disappointed.

However, there is a failed attempt at adding heartfelt drama to this movie, no doubt trying to inspire people to follow their dreams and remind them that the time for doing so, is limited. Which isn't a bad thing to do, obviously. It just seemed a little bit out of place. On that note; I have no clue as to why drama and crime are added to this film's genre, you might as well add romance and sci-fi.

Disconnect your brain and laugh your aches away!

Here is a film for the Star Wars geeks out there and only them. The story follows a group of five Star Wars obsessed friends in 1998 setting off on their own journey across the country to break in George Lucas's ranch and steal a copy of PHANTOM MENACE for an early screening. The original motivation for the endeavor is that one of the friends, Linus (Chris Marquette), has cancer and might not be around for it's theatrical release. It's a nice touch that could've added extra meaning behind the crazy plan of breaking into Lucas's home, but unfortunately its a fact that's breezed over and rarely mentioned over the course of the film. There had been reports of consistent trouble in the post-production process and studio interference that resulted in a lot of the cancer subplot being removed; if so, that's a shame because I think it could've only strengthened the plot, putting more meaning into their drastic actions.

Nearly all of the humor in the film is related to the original epic trilogy and, while casual fans will understand a good deal of the references, I'm sure even more of the jokes will go right over their heads. A lot of the laughs come from throwbacks to iconic moments (the malfunctioning hyperdrive on the Falcon/Hutch's "lightspeed" on the van failing to function) and from the cameos scattered throughout the movie. All the best parts of the film are from the cameos dropping by in every other scene: Danny Trejo, Seth Rogen (in not one, but three bit parts), Ethan Suplee, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, and a few key cameos that I'm not going to spoil here for those who plan to see the movie (the best being the "inside man" who supplies the information to get into Lucas's ranch).

The cameos really steal the show in this movie (and there's practically one in every other scene) but the core cast certainly does a great job on their own. The central group of actors do such a good job and appear to be having so much fun that I wouldn't be surprised if they were Star Wars geeks off-set as well. It was a good idea casting actors who could almost be considered unknowns, most of them recognizable for past projects but far from being big names (with exceptions). Sam Huntington is the team's straight-man, Eric, who abandoned his friends after high school in favor of a job with his father's used car lot. Chris Marquette is Linus, the cancer-stricken friend providing the backbone for the whole motivation of the film; despite his cancer subplot being brushed under the carpet, his long-standing disappointment with Eric over giving up on their dream to start their own comic remains as the main point of contention to add some sort of conflict to their trip. Dan Fogler is easily the funniest cast member as the friend who continues to live in his mom's garage (sorry, "carriage house") and has the souped-up Star Wars van complete with R2-D2 poking out the top. Finally, Jay Baruchel as über-nerd Windows and Zoe Bell as the fangirl with an attitude round of the rest of the team.

The movie is funny but the problem lies in that it targets a niche audience. People who aren't at least casual fans of the Star Wars movies might watch this and wonder what everyone else is laughing at. It's funny enough for us fans though that it makes for an entertaining movie the first time through, but repeated viewings don't stand up as well because the cameo surprises are old news and the trivia moments don't hold up.

This was shown today at the Santa Fe Film Festival.

I truly loved it, totally unexpected, as I knew very little about the film. Someone today mentioned a February release, but they also said that was not confirmed, so take that date only as a possible.

I can say that I think you wont be disappointed, it hits a lot of notes, none of them bad. Lots of actors I've never seen before, their interaction was natural, it felt like their relationships were real.

There was a good sized crowd, so it seems there was a lot of interest here at the film festival, and everyone applauded at the end.

Kate