JayRo Watches Movies: Fanboys

I went into Fanboys expecting the worse - an unfunny film with Kristen Bell in a Leia costume. It delivered on the Leia costume, and for the parts not involving a cameo, it delivered on the unfunny. But for the final third of the film, the script actually carried the film, providing laughs in a more natural manner.

The movie is set in 1999, months before Episode 1 opened. After finding out that one is terminally ill, four friends decide to road trip to the Skywalker Ranch to break in and see the movie before it is released. Along the way, they have a lot of wacky episodes.

Part of what was irritating about this movie was how they treated the characters. Instead of treating the characters with respect, they are the butt of many of the jokes, making the audience laugh at them, instead of with them. This could have ruined the movie, but luckily the cameos save the movie. Kevin Smith, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher and Seth Rogan (twice!) appear and steal the scenes they are in.

Hoywever, something funny happens once the characters arrive at the Skywalker Ranch. (yes, they do make it there. No I'm not spoiling anything here.) Magically, the plot becomes interesting, the antics funny, and the characters likeable. It's as though the writers wrote the movie specifically for this portion, and then realized they needed to fill in the rest of the film.

In any event, this ended up being a much better movie than I expected. I recommend renting it for the cameos and final Skywalker Ranch piece.

And FWIW, it did deliver Kristen Bell in a Leia costume. So it half met my expectations.