It's 1998 in Ohio. Eric Bottler (Sam Huntington) is about to inherit his father's (Christopher McDonald) used car dealership, when at a Halloween party he unexpectedly runs back into some old friends: Hutch (Dan Fogler), Windows (Jay Baruchel) and Linus (Chris Marquette). Back in school, the four were mad Star Wars fans and even aspired to start their own comic strip. But after graduation Bottler felt obligated to grow up and move on without the other three, which particularly upset Linus, who had known him the longest. But their fateful reunification ignites something dormant in Bottler: his insatiable Star Wars fanboyism. So after a drunken Windows suggests it at the party, a few days later Bottler visits their memorabilia store with floor plans to Skywalker Ranch (George Lucas' HQ) and a brave pitch: to break in there and steal a print of Episode I for themselves before it's released. Bottler advocates this even more when he learns Linus has terminal cancer (a plot point that made the uneasy producers cut it from the film; after a public outcry it was restored), and then, with the others' feisty but equally geeky employee Zoe (Kristen Bell) in tow, they pile into Hutch's barely roadworthy van and take their mission all the way to California.
Obviously this movie's target audience is those its title references and as one myself I could never critique it objectively so I won't even bother trying. Fanboys was unmistakably a labor of love for director Kyle Newman and writers Ernest Cline (Ready Player One), Adam F. Goldberg and Dan Pulick and therefore the result is as gleefully unself-conscious and nerd chic as imaginable. Newman intended for Fanboys to evoke the anticipation and goodwill of the period between the 1997 Special Editions of the original trilogy and the then-upcoming prequels, and that does surface. Our heroes are cleverly observed substitutes for the heroes of the Star Wars OT: the conscientious Bottler is Luke Skywalker (and his father naturally has a scene where he mimics Darth Vader), the brash Hutch is Han Solo, the panicky Windows is C-3PO, the wise and spiritual Linus is Obi-Wan Kenobi and of course Zoe is Princess Leia (and yes, she dons the gold bikini). En route to Skywalker Ranch they also encounter a stoner Indian chief (Danny Trejo), an angry Trekker horde, two escorts and their dangerous pimp (Seth Rogen, on double duty as the Trekker gang leader), Windows' online girlfriend who's not quite what she's claimed to be, Ain't It Cool News website founder Harry Knowles (Ethan Supplee) and cameos from three very familiar faces.
But thematically it has a very beating human heart which even viewers detached from Star Wars will at least be able to acknowledge, and that's the most magical ingredient for me. Over their bumbling, risky journey, the guys and girl all renew their very intimate bonds with each other and the common thing that unified them to start with, and literally everybody has at least one thing that nourishes and inspires them as much as Star Wars does for our heroes, even if it's totally bereft of art or entertainment. And in its more tender moments Newman and his cast, who all give fun and natural turns, never let it get too mushy. How else can I possibly close this review? The Force is very strong with Fanboys.
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