Fanboys

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Rating 1


Directed by Kyle Newman

Written by Ernest Cline and Adam F Goldberg, story by Ernest Cline and Dan Pulick

Starring Sam Huntington (Eric), Christopher Marquette (Linus), Kristen Bell (Zoe), Dan Fogler (Hutch), Jay Baruchel (Windows), David Denman (Chaz), Christopher McDonald (Big Chuck), Seth Rogan (Admiral Seasholtz / Roach), Allie Grant (Rogue Leader), Ethan Suplee (Harry Knowles), Danny Trejo (The Chief), Billy Dee Williams (Judge Reinhold) and Carrie Fisher (Doctor), with William Shatner and Kevin Smith


October 1998: Eric and Linus were best buddies at high school, sharing a love of comic books and Star Wars, but in the three years since graduation they have drifted apart. Eric is now working as a car salesman for his father Big Chuck. Following an encounter with Linus at a Halloween party, Eric is told by their mutual friends Hutch and Windows that Linus has cancer. The four of them set out across country in an old van from their small hometown in Ohio, headed for Marin County in California, where they plan to break into the Skywalker Ranch to watch a rough cut of ‘Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace’.

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I will start by saying that I am not a fan of ‘Star Wars’. I have only seen two of the films in their entirety, the original one and ‘The Phantom Menace’, neither of which I like, plus parts of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’. As it happens, for reasons I cannot quite recall now, I saw ‘The Phantom Menace’ during its first performance when it arrived over here in July 1999. The auditorium was full and there was a palpable sense of excitement, unlike anything I had experienced previously (or have again) in a movie theatre. When the film was over and the audience were making their way out, the atmosphere was now completely flat and it was obvious that the film had been a major disappointment. I thought it was abysmal, but in any case the fascination with Star Wars and the obsession it generates rather passes me by.

Perhaps if I was a genuine Star Wars fan I would have enjoyed ‘Fanboys’ more, but I don’t think so. I was very much looking forward to watching the film, hoping that it would be funny and affable and fully expecting to enjoy it. I was very disappointed. It barely raised a chuckle and many of the scenes just made me cringe. It really wasn’t very funny at all and much of the time it just seemed leaden and undercooked. A reference to ALF did make me laugh and the insistence of Hutch that only tapes of Rush were to be played in his van during the road trip was humorous and nicely judged. It was amusing to find the judge they were brought before when their van was stopped for speeding and they were discovered to be in possession of a huge bag of peyote was called Judge Reinhold, but these moments were sadly few and far between.

The gestation period of the film during production and editing seems to have become increasingly messy, which might explain why it simply isn’t as funny or engaging as it surely should have been. The Wikipedia entry about the film suggests that it was originally slated for release in August 2007, but this was pushed back to allow for more filming. The release date was pushed back again when apparently reshoots directed by Steven Brill (‘The Mighty Ducks’, ‘Without a Paddle’) took place. One of the changes was to delete the cancer storyline altogether. This resulted in an acrimonious exchange of insults between Brill and online campaigners who wanted the original cut to be reinstated. The film was eventually re-cut by its original director Kyle Newman at short notice and screened at Comic Con in San Diego in July 2008. The film was finally given a proper release in February 2009.

I liked Christopher Marquette in ‘Joan of Arcadia’ and Kristen Bell in ‘Veronica Mars’. They are okay here, as are the other leading actors, but they never really manage to transcend the problems in the material they are working with. Seth Rogan doesn’t raise a laugh, despite his reputation. Even an appearance by William Shatner fails to lift things very much. Ultimately, I didn’t think it was affectionate enough in its lampooning of fans of Star Wars and Star Trek, simply seeming to suggest that all Star Wars fans hate Star Trek fans (which may well be true for all I know) and all Star Trek fans deserve the hatred directed at them (which I am pretty sure is not true).

‘Fanboys’ has a 32% rating at Rotten Tomatoes from 82 reviews, 56 of which are adjudged to be negative. Box Office Mojo records a worldwide box office gross a little under $784,000.

Review posted 28 June 2009



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Southland Tales

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Rating 3½


Written and directed by Richard Kelly

Starring a cast of thousands, including Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore, Kevin Smith, Bai Ling, Holmes Osborne, Nora Dunn and Cheri Otari


Had Francis Ford Coppola been a cyber-geek and made ‘Apocalypse Now’ in 2005, rather than in the late 1970s, it would have been called ‘Southland Tales’.

That is my first impression of this strange film, Richard Kelly’s belated follow-up to his 2001 cult classic ‘Donnie Darko’.

I have also identified a touch of the Coen Brothers about it, particularly during the musical sequence featuring Justin Timberlake’s character, which put me in mind of the surreal musical-dream sequence in ‘The Big Lebowski’. There are many other films that could be referenced – I’ve heard mention of ‘Dr Strangelove’ and ‘Strange Days’. I can understand this.

I suspect the main thing that will come to mind for anyone who knows anything about ‘Southland Tales’ is the savage reaction it received when a work-in-progress copy was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2006. Most critics dismissed it as an abominable disaster. Kelly re-edited the film and secured funding to complete the special effects and other post-production work. It was finally released into American cinemas in November 2007 and in Britain a little under a month later.

The reviews this time were still negative, although not as hostile. They all referred to the screening at Cannes and it does seem as if it will never now be viewed without pre-existing bias, apparently negative in most cases.

I haven’t read ‘Two Roads Diverge’, ‘Fingerprints’ and ‘The Mechanicals’, the three comic books that form the backstory to the film, except for the extracts that have turned up on-line. Having seen the film, I don’t think is necessary to do so – and having no interest in comic books, it is not something I am planning on doing. I didn’t find the film difficult to follow or think the message was particularly complicated.

Either this means I am a genius, which I most certainly am not, I am a simpleton who managed to arrive at a meaning by the very virtue of not understanding the complexity of it all, or the film is nowhere near as convoluted and difficult to follow as the critics have led us to believe. I think the last suggestion is the most likely.

It is unfocused - and I will want to watch it a few more times - but it wasn’t any more “out there” than ‘Donnie Darko’. It shares with that film references to theoretical physics, time travel and religion. What it perhaps lacks is the same emotional resonance that Kelly achieved in his first film. There was a real substance and heart to characters like Donnie and Gretchen, but that is harder to find in this new film.

It is too long. There is nothing wrong with a film lasting over two hours. Many films last over two hours. The Paul Thomas Anderson film ‘Magnolia’ is over three hours long and worth every minute. However, in the case of ‘Southland Tales’, I think twenty minutes could easily have been shaved off the running time without compromising the story. It does flirt with tedium in places and it did start to drag a little bit towards the end.

I went in biased in favour of the film, and not just because I like Sarah Michelle Gellar. I am always suspicious of very hostile reviews, which I tend to think often harbour an underlying agenda. Having said that, I was a little bit worried that the film would prove to be as bad as some of the reviewers have suggested.

At first, I wasn’t sure about all the cyber stuff. I found it distracting and visually chaotic to the eye, but I soon got used to it. The film dragged a little bit at times – and my viewing pleasure wasn’t helped by the uncomfortable cinema seat and lack of decent leg room (I am very tall). Also, someone in the audience nearby constantly crinkled sweet papers, which I found diverted my attention away from the screen. Usually, these things don’t bother me, but this is a film that does require concentration. Roll on the DVD release!


The acting is fine. I don’t have a problem with anyone, although I do find Bai Ling rather odd – and not especially likeable, to be honest. Justin Timberlake impressed me. Equally, I thought Mandy Moore did a good job. Dwayne Johnson did what was needed of him in the lead role. I thought he was very good. I also thought Seann William Scott was excellent.

I knew this wasn’t a vehicle for Sarah Michelle Gellar, but I was a little bit disappointed that we didn’t see more of her. Krysta Now is a fabulous character and when I came out of the cinema I couldn’t help but think it would have been interesting to have the whole film devoted to her. As it exists, it is not a meaty role, but once again Gellar proves that she is a decent and underrated actress.

‘Southland Tales’ is not, I suspect, a classic film. It is not a great film. At least, based on one viewing that is my initial impression. However, it is an interesting and unusual film and it is a lot better than the critics would like us to believe. Contrary to some opinion, it doesn’t prove that ‘Donnie Darko’ was a fluke.

It might be a film of limited appeal, but it cannot be faulted for its endeavour to do something unusual and thought provoking. Richard Kelly probably has stretched himself too thin here and tried to create something too ambitious, but if it is a failure, it’s a fascinating one.



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