Are you a Star Wars Fanboy?  Could you survive a week long road trip and have enough Star Wars t-shirts on hand to wear a different shirt for the trip there and back?  Is it hard to get through a conversation with dropping at least one Star Wars reference (or just a movie reference)?  Have you ever been to a convention?  Or, better yet, do you go to monthly Star Wars club meetings? 

And are you PROUD of all of these things? 

I know I am, which is why I think I enjoyed ‘Fanboys’ as much as I did.  Yeah, it’s not the best moviie evar, but I didn’t go in expecting Lawrence of Arabia, I went in expecting a really geeky comedy about guys that love the classic star wars movies. 

The plot is simple – It’s 1998 and 4 friends from high school run into each other at a party.  One of the friends has put his dreams on hold to works at his dad’s car dealership, the other 3 are still living their extreme geek lifestyles.  But, when one it is disclosed that one of the buddies has cancer and that doctor’s have said he will only live a few months (and won’t make it to the official release of episode 1), the boys decide to embark on the road trip they have fantasized about since they were in 5th grade – invading Skywalker Ranch.  It’s a road trip movie with a nerdy twist. 

A lot of the jokes are movie quotes, nerd stereotypes, and jabs about being virgins.  Yet ‘Fanboys’ works because of the cast and crew behind the scenes.  You will recognize many of the main actors and cameos, and they all have established geek-cred, so you know when they poke fun at Star Wars nerds, Trekkers, and more, they do it all in good fun because they are fanboys too.  In essence, this is the biggest fan film ever – a bunch of friends getting together to write a movie dedicated to the movies that inpired them to do what they do.

Now, if you’re just a casual fan of the movies – you watch them and forget them, then this movie won’t mean much to you.  But if you stood in line for the prequels and watched midnight viewings with all of your friends, cheering each time a character said “I’ve got a bad feeling about this”, then this movie was made for you.  Because you know that it’s not about the special effects or the lightsabers, it’s about the experience, the bond that Star Wars fans share.  Go to any convention and look at all the people brought together by these films.  Fandom is less about the show, and more about the people you get to meet when taking part in it. 

So, being a Fangirl, and proud of it, I’d give this movie 4 outta 5 nerdy stars.  Best way to watch is with a large group of Star Wars fans so you can laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all.  Because, as I said, it’s not about the movie, but the bond we share as big ol’ fanboys and fangirls.