I know that I just reviewed "Ready Player One", but there is another film written by Ernie Cline, "Fan Boys". This movie has it all, and is hilarious! Cline continuously knocks it out of the park with anything he writes. I'm already looking forward to an "Armada" film! Come on Ernie!
Fan Boys follows a group of friends as they travel from Ohio to the Lucas Skywalker Ranch in California in an attempt to steal and watch a copy of Star Wars:Episode 1. Planning this caper are Eric (Sam Huntington), Linus (Chris Marquette), Hutch (Dan Folger), and Windows (Jay Baruchel).
Eric, having reluctantly had distanced himself from his friends and has turned his attention to becoming a car salesmen at his fathers, Big Chuck's (Christopher McDonald) dealership. When his high school friends come beckoning, Eric refuses to accompany them, until he learns that his best friend, Linus, is losing a battle with cancer.
You discover that Eric and Linus were best friends who created a comic book together in their younger years and had just naturally drifted as Eric attempted to "grow up" and leave his fellow nerd friends behind. However, this heist has come at a horrible time for Eric as his father is preparing to leave the dealership to Eric. Big Chuck is a very overbearing figure that is very much against Eric hanging out with his old friends.
Although the trip is fueled by the need to infiltrate Skywalker Ranch, at least one of our friends has an alternative reason to go on this trip. Windows has a online "girlfriend" that may just be as big of a nerd as he is. Weird because he is also being pursued by long time friend Zoe (Kristen Bell), who is not only beautiful, but is also real and present. However, Windows has no clue that Zoe even is a woman, as she is seen as just "one of the guys".
Of course, no raid on Skywalker Ranch could be easily achieved, so our band of merry pirates seek out help along the way. The help comes from a very unexpected source as blue prints of the ranch itself, and information on how to breech the security is provided by none other than Captain James Tiberius Kirk himself, William Shatner!
But what kind of story would this be if everything went so smoothly? On their way to meet Shatner, Windows meets his online love, who turns out to be tweenager Rogue Leader/Kimmy (Allie Grant). After refusing her advances, Windows and the gang are beaten and tested by Kimmy's BIG brother Harry Knowles (Ethan Suplee). They pass Harry's geek test and are set free, only to have Hutch's custom van breakdown.
Luckily, after stripping for cash, the guys find the Chief (Danny Trejo) who is able and willing to fix their van. After a very stimulating peyote trip, the guys wake to find the van fixed and the Chief giving them a large amount of marijuana. Chief tells Linus that he needs it more than the Chief does, having sensed his illness. Shortly after leaving, they are pulled over and arrested for having the pot. Fortunately, Zoe comes to the rescue; and of course, now Zoe is included in the heist.
In my opinion, one of the most hilarious parts of the film are the multiple roles played by Seth Rogen. You first meet him in the home town of Captain Kirk, and he plays the role of Admiral Seasholtz. He is a very annoying Star Trek fan who is easily mocked by our troupe. Dressed in complete uniform, Seasholtz is giving a tour when all hell breaks loose and our friends destroy a horribly made statue of Kirk fighting Khan.
Later we see Rogen as a pimp named Roach. Seems that the always horny Hutch, and Windows decide that these two beautiful women at a casino are really into them, so they naturally invite them to their room where they both proceed to just talk to these girls for a while. To Hutch and Windows' surprise, and an hour passes, Roach enters the room looking for his money. Luckily, Roach is tattooed with Star Wars characters, including Jarjar, which gives these unlucky in love guys an oportunity to escape.
Finally, once our group makes it to the Skywalker Ranch, they are able to get inside using the plans from Shatner. As they stumble around and geek out over Star Wars memorabilia, security catches up with them and manages to capture them. After some time and mild interrogation by Danny McBride and Craig Robinson, the voice of George Lucas deems that our groups is free to go. He also states that just one of them can see the film that has brought them across the country. Obviously, it's left to Linus.
After the viewing, we seen Linus exit, alone, in tears. He expresses how wonderful the film was and the gang heads home.
This film is really fun. The editing and directing are done well and the story flows nicely. We get a very healthy dose of cameo performances by the likes of Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams as Judge Reinhold, Ray Park, and Will Forte, among others. I also recall seeing the preview for this film about two or three years before it actually hit theaters. Not sure what happened there, but it was worth the wait. Suitable for anyone 12 and up. Very great movie!
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