Review: Force Not With 'Fanboys'

'Fanboys' (R)(out of four)

Sci-fi films and television shows have always provided certain folks with a real bonding experience. Just ask any Trekkie. ... or should I say "Trekker." The new film, "Fanboys," turns the spotlight on those other fanatics -- the ones whose closets contain Darth Vader helmets and semifunctional light sabers, and who utter the name of George Lucas with quiet awe. Yes, it's a movie about hard-core "Star Wars" fans.

The time frame is 1998, when the much-anticipated "Episode One: The Phantom Menace" is still months away from release. Four friends who grew up watching the first three films in the "Star Wars" series reconnect by resurrecting a mission planned years earlier -- to drive cross country to California and sneak onto the center of the "Star Wars" universe -- the high-security Skywalker Ranch. The reason they finally decide to attempt this task is that one member of the group is dying and his pals want to steal a print of the film for him to watch.

The four are all very different: Eric (Sam Huntington) is the responsible one, unhappily working for his dad's auto dealership; Windows (Jay Baruchel) is the super-nerd; and Hutch (Dan Fogler) is the loud, obnoxious one who still lives at home in his parents' garage ("It's not a garage, it's a carriage house," he explains to anyone who will listen). Rounding out the foursome is Linus (Chris Marquette), the most perceptive of the group.

As with any road trip, the guys have all kinds of adventures along the way. They keep running into, and trade insults with, a group of hated "Star Trek" fans ("Get out of here, you Kirk-loving Spock-sucker" is one memorable insult). Without giving too much away, there are some surprisingly effective cameos in the film, with some very familiar faces from the "Star Wars" world. Even a famous "Trek" face shows up in one of the movie's funniest scenes.

"Fanboys" has traveled a long journey to get to the screen. "Star Wars" fan Eric Cline wrote a first draft of the script back in 1998, and attracted plenty of Internet attention after Harry Knowles of the Ain't It Cool News Web site read the story (Knowles has a nice cameo in the film). Screenwriter Adam F. Goldberg ("Revenge of the Nerds") came aboard to help rewrite the script, and Kyle Newman (a winner of a Coca-Cola film competition) signed on to direct.

The movie has been generating a lot of buzz among "Star Wars" fans for quite a while, even as the film's release has been delayed and additional scenes shot. Unfortunately, all that tinkering didn't do the trick. The movie falls short in a number of aspects, not least of which is that many scenes feel awkwardly strung together. The characters aren't very developed and it's hard to really care about them. Hutch is especially annoying, courtesy of a way-over-the-top performance by Fogler, who seems to be trying to channel the late Sam Kinison.

A movie like this needed a lot of heart, and despite some co-operation from "Star Wars" creator George Lucas (the filmmakers were allowed to do some shooting at Lucas' Skywalker Ranch), the emotion of this film feels very forced.

Some of the best moments come courtesy of Kristen Bell as the lone female in the group, but she's too little and too late, and not enough to save this movie. Sadly, the Force is definitely not with "Fanboys."