[ExI] [wta-talk] Roger Ebert reviews "Fanboys"

[Michael LaTorra]

I suspect that Ebert's real problem here (aside from the possibility that
this film, which I have not yet seen, is just no damn good) is the fact that
he himself WAS a major science fiction fan.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert
which says:
*As a teenager, Ebert was involved in **science fiction
fandom*<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction_fandom>
*,[8] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert#cite_note-7> writing
articles for **fanzines* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanzines>*, including
**Richard A. Lupoff* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_A._Lupoff>*'s **
Xero* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xero_(SF_fanzine)>*.*

As for myself, I'm a totally unrepentant, middle-aged fan of science fiction
and I don't care who knows it. My kids laugh, my wife rolls her eyes, but
"Here I stand; I can do no other" (with appropriate apologies to Martin
Luther for stealing his immortal line).

Regards,
Mike LaTorra

On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 9:49 PM, John Grigg <possiblepaths2050 at gmail.com>wrote:

> I had been looking forward to watching this film that highlights
> fandom, but the reviews have been very mixed.  Roger Ebert, the 800
> pound gorilla of American film critics, seemed to have a real axe to
> grind against this sometimes maligned subculture.
>
> John  : (
>
>
> http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090204/REVIEWS/902049987
>
> Fanboys
> The fandom menace:
> People, get a life!
>
> Release Date: 2009
>
> Ebert Rating: *½
>
> / / / Feb 4, 2009
>
> by Roger Ebert
>
> A lot of fans are basically fans of fandom itself. It's all about
> them. They have mastered the "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" universes or
> whatever, but their objects of veneration are useful mainly as a
> backdrop to their own devotion. Anyone who would camp out in a tent on
> the sidewalk for weeks in order to be first in line for a movie is
> more into camping on the sidewalk than movies.
>
> Extreme fandom may serve as a security blanket for the socially inept,
> who use its extreme structure as a substitute for social skills. If
> you are Luke Skywalker and she is Princess Leia, you already know what
> to say to each other, which is so much safer than having to ad-lib it.
> Your fannish obsession is your beard. If you know absolutely all the
> trivia about your cubbyhole of pop culture, it saves you from having
> to know anything about anything else. That's why it's excruciatingly
> boring to talk to such people: They're always asking you questions
> they know the answer to.
>
> But enough about my opinions; what about "Fanboys"? Its primary flaw
> is that it's not critical. It is a celebration of an idiotic
> lifestyle, and I don't think it knows it. If you want to get in a car
> and drive to California, fine. So do I. So did Jack Kerouac. But if
> your first stop involves a rumble at a "Star Trek" convention in Iowa,
> dude, beam your ass down to Route 66.
>
> The movie, set in 1999, involves four "Star Wars" fanatics and,
> eventually, their gal pal, who have the notion of driving to Marin
> County, breaking into the Skywalker Ranch, and stealing a copy of a
> print of "Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace" so they can see
> it before anyone else. This is about as plausible as breaking into the
> U.S. Mint and stealing some money so you can spend it before anyone
> else.
>
> "Fanboys" follows in the footsteps of "Sex Drive" by allowing one of
> its heroes to plan a rendezvous with an Internet sex goddess. To avoid
> revealing any plot secrets in this film, I will recycle my earlier
> warning: In a chat room, don't be too hasty to believe Ms. Tasty.
>
> This plot is given gravitas because one of the friends, Linus
> (Christopher Marquette), is dying of cancer. His buddy Eric (Sam
> Huntington) is in favor of the trip because, I dunno, it will give
> Linus something to live for, I guess. The other fanboys are Hutch (Dan
> Fogler), who lives in his mother's garage coach house, and Windows
> (Jay Baruchel), who changed his name from MacOS. Just kidding.
> Windows, Hutch and Linus work in a comic bookstore, where their
> favorite customer is Zoe (Kristen Bell). She's sexy and a "Star Wars"
> fan. How cool is that? She's almost better than the date who turns
> into a pizza and a six-pack when the deed is done.
>
> The question of Linus' cancer became the subject of a celebrated
> Internet flame war last summer, with supporters of "Fanboys" director
> Kyle Newman running Anti-Harvey Web sites opposing Harvey Weinstein's
> alleged scheme to cut the subplot out of the movie. The subplot
> survived, but it's one of those movie diseases that is mentioned
> occasionally so everyone can look solemn and then dropped when the
> ailing Linus dons a matching black camouflage outfit and scales the
> Skywalker Ranch walls with a grappling hook.
>
> "Fanboys" is an amiable but disjointed movie that identifies too
> closely with its heroes. Poking a little more fun at them would have
> been a great idea. They are tragically hurtling into a cultural dead
> end, mastering knowledge which has no purpose other than being
> mastered, and too smart to be wasting their time. When a movie's
> opening day finally comes, and fanboys leave their sidewalk tents for
> a mad dash into the theater, I wonder who retrieves their tents,
> sleeping bags, portable heaters and iPod speakers. Warning: Mom isn't
> always going to be there to clean up after you.
>
> Cast & Credits
>
> Eric Sam Huntington
> Hutch Dan Fogler
> Windows Jay Baruchel
> Zoe Kristen Bell
> Linus Christopher Marquette
>
> The Weinstein Company presents a film directed by Kyle Newman. Written
> by Ernest Cline and Adam F. Goldberg. Running time: 90 minutes. Rated
> PG-13 (for pervasive crude and sexual material, language and drug
> content).
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