Fanboys (2008)

So at first glance this appears to be yet another teen comedy running in the same vein as Superbad, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up and the like (AKA anything with Seth Rogan) HOWEVER it is this, but so much more my friends.

The age old question; who shot first, Greedo or Han? Well in my opinion it was neither. It was Ernest Cline when he wrote this masterpiece of nerd heaven. Its very probable that Star Wars fans the world over were having the same fantasy of seeing Episode I before its release, so much so that MUMS the world over had to regularly clean ominous white stains off Darth Vader bedsheets whilst hoping to god their 22 year old son still living at home had been with an actually girl and not just jacking it over that gold bikini again. SO, the review.

The film's plot is based around a group of 5 friends, all obsessed with Star Wars, and their age old plan to break into the Lucas Ranch, CA and steal a rough copy of Episode I: The Phantom Menace before its official cinema release. The group is made up of: Windows, the classic nerdy looking guy, glasses, skinny, greasy hair, online "life partner." Hutch, the big hairy Rush fan who dresses and acts like Han Solo throughout the film and has one testicle (unlike Harrison Ford, I hasten to add, I can't deal with anymore lawsuits god damnit) Zoe, the typical nerdy girl character, hot beyond belief but none of the guys can see it and a bit of a tomboy. Linus (which i think is a dig at Linux but there we go) an ordinary looking bloke who just so happens to *SPOILER WARNING* have cancer and wont last til the release of Episode I and Eric, the nerd who left it all behind to work for his father selling cars and hasn't spoken to Linus for 3 years.

Once Eric finds out about Linus'....."situation" the plan is put back on and the gang pile into Hutch's van, (kitted out like the Millennium Falcon even down to sound effects and everything very well done in my humble opinion) and head on out to California. Window's life partner says she can provide them with floor plans and other insider information to get them into the Lucas Ranch so they arrange to meet her in Texas. However, Hutch has other ideas and makes a detour to Riverside, Iowa the fabled future birthplace of one James Tiberius Kirk, to basically bash some Trekkies.

In comes the big guns Rogan. Rogan plays 3 separate roles in the film: a Trekkie Admiral, a redneck pimp and an alien. Thank god the film isn't based around him for once i might add. Rogan's input is good. Funny, well timed, balance and all together the RIGHT amount of Rogan, much like in Superbad. Anyways, the long and the short of it is he calls Solo a bitch and Hutch kicks his ass. Nice little segue.

Back on the road the guys get a flat and end up in a gay biker bar stripping for 20 hairy bikers. They are indeed saved by "The Chief" (Danny Trejo, who seems to have been in everything from Con-Air, Stargate Atlantis, Desperate Housewives, Spy Kids, Planet Terror you name it, he's been the Mexican of questionable intentions in it!) "The Chief likes to refer to himself in the third person, it confuses people. Especially bitches" made me larf lotsly. With the wheel fixed the guys roll out to Texas.

Dun dun dun. Hutch is caught speeding by the police (officer played by Joe Lo Truglio from Superbad) and attempts to out run them using his "hyperspace" button (NOx) and the 4 guys end up in jail. Zoe bails them out and joins the quest, but not until Hutch has spread a ham and cheese sandwich over a prison toilet and crapped a stonker right in front of the rest of the guys. Nice. Oh, the judge who acquits them of charges also happens to be Billy Dee Williams (Lando Callrisian) I'm just saying, OK, just saying.........bit of a dude.

Onwards to Texas to meet their contact "Red Leader" who inevitably turns out to be a 10 year old girl, and a fugly one at that. Window's gets beaten up by her uncle (played by My Name Is Earl's Ethan Suplee) who just so happens to be the owner of the biggest nerd forum site, they are forced to offer him exclusive spoilers once they've seen the film and he lets them go, telling them to travel to Trek-Kon in Vegas and ask for "scruffy nerf-herder."

Cameo appearances from Kevin Smith as a pimp for Jason Mewes, a rent boy,and his customer, Zak Knutson, in a truck stop bathroom. That is all.

In Vegas, Hutch and Windows end up fooling around with hookers and then running for their lives, Linus and Eric get into the Trek-Kon and meet "scruffy nerf-herder" who obviously turns out to be none other than William FUCKING Shatner. "I can score anything: I'm William Shatner" Shatner provides the necessary info to get the gang into the Ranch. During the escape from Roach the pimp (Rogan) and Admiral Seasholtz (Rogan) and his full USS Enterprise crew of expendable extras Linus ends up falling out of the van and ends up in hospital. Here comes another of the epic cameos. Carrie "Help Me Obi-Wan Kenobi" Fisher is the attending who treats Linus, an argument ensues and they escape from hospital. But not before Linus snogs Leia. WIN.

The sequences in the Ranch are basically porn for Lucasites. The group manage to get all the way into the vault containing a vast amount original props and costumes from Lucas films, Darth Vader suit, Indie's hat, Solo's blaster etc. Security catches them. Now when I say security I mean FUCKING DARTH MAUL. It is indeed Ray Park the original Maul, several references and a short lightsaber fight later the gang are captured and detained. Lucas decides that they can go, if they prove they are indeed Fanboys. Testing of each character begins based on Star Wars and sex acts. This could have been developed so much more into a major comedic piece in my opinion, it is also obvious that the security chief was written for Rogan but 4 roles is far too much Rogan all over my face, I mean in one movie.

So they don't get to see the movie. Well Linus does but then he dies so it doesn't matter anyway, right? Wrong. Surprisingly for a film of this genre, with these actors, there is quite a bit of emotion plugged into his character and story line and it has been executed well. So the four remaining characters camp out and wait for the movie to open, watch it and thus ends the film.

Overall, entertaining, well written and cast with a ridiculous list of cameos. Peppered with nerdy references and story sections that make this THE nerd comedy of the last few years. The main 5 actors are all relativly unknown with little acting experience or big screen roles and yet all of them handled themselves well, there was no lacking in acting talent for sure. Thoroughly enjoyable film, so long as you know your ewoks from your tribbles.