Fanboys (2009)

"Star Wars" fanatics take a cross-country trip to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their dying friend can see a screening of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace before its release.

Director:

Kyle Newman

Writers:

Ernest Cline (screenplay), Adam F. Goldberg (screenplay),

Stars:

Sam Huntington, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Huntington	...	Eric
Chris Marquette	...	Linus
Dan Fogler	...	Hutch
Jay Baruchel	...	Windows
Kristen Bell	...	Zoe
David Denman	...	Chaz
Christopher McDonald	...	Big Chuck (as Chris McDonald)
Charlie B. Brown	...	Myron
Isaac Kappy	...	Garfunkel
Stephen Pina	...	Simon
Seth Rogen	...	Admiral Seasholtz / Alien / Roach
Thom Bishops	...	The Vulcan / Gruvock
Clark Sanchez	...	Bartender
Stanley Shunkamolah	...	Thick-Necked Thug
Danny Trejo	...	The Chief

Storyline

"Star Wars" fanatics take a cross-country trip to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their dying friend can see a screening of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace before its release.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | george lucas | the force | buddy | obscene finger gesture | 

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Taglines:

Coming soon to our galaxy

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for pervasive crude and sexual material, language and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Official MySpace Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 2009 (Iceland)

Also Known As:

Fanboys - Rajongók háborúja

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,900,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$171,533 (USA) (6 February 2009)

Gross:

$685,484 (USA) (17 April 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Weinstein Company, The, Trigger Street Productions, Picture Machine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carrie Fisher:  Doctor, played Princess Leia.

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Goofs

In the scene where Hutch, Windows, and Eric are in Linus' bedroom trying to convince him to steal the movie, Linus is enjoying candy from a Glow-In-The-Dark Emperor Palpatine Pez dispenser. This Pez dispenser was released in 2005, 7 years after the year in which the movie is set. In addition, there are several other Pez dispensers behind Eric which were also released after 1998 (including a limited edition C3PO Giant Pez dispenser).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hutch: [as Stormtrooper] Halloween just got awesome, bitches!
Linus: [as Stormtrooper] Prepare for the entrance of Lord Vader.
Windows: [as Darth Vader] Give yourself to the Dark Side. It's the only way you can save your...

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Crazy Credits

The Weinstein Company logo is backed by light saber sound effects.

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Connections

References Men in Black (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Baby Got Going"
Performed by Liz Phair

User Reviews

Embrace your inner geek

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.