Fanboys is the Funniest Cancer Movie You'll Rent this Summer, Maybe

When Fanboys came out last winter, it was a limited release that didn't come anywhere near me, and that was about as surprising as that one time when I got picked on in high school. But I still wanted to see it really bad because it had been in production since about 1935 or something, and was a classic road trip movie and the trailer looked really funny, so HAHAHA! Awesome! When has marketing EVER steered me wrong? Except that one time when I was a kid and wanted to try Grape Nuts because the commercials made them look crunchy and delicious, but guess what else is crunchy when you chew it? Dirt. Same flavor, it turns out. 

But back to Fanboys... (Those three dots mean there is more. You just have to click the link. See? I'm telling you ahead of time so I don't feel guilty about tricking you.)

Fanboys should have been awesome. It had great cameos and that funny kid from Knocked Up with the maple leaf tattoo whose name is Jay Baruchel, I think, but I'm not going to look it up for reasons of integrity, and Dan Fogler, who is supposed to be funny but I think I have a weird funny blindness when it comes to him, because I really don't see it, and crawling around on your belly and doing unnecessary combat rolls was sort of funny when Bill Murray did it in the early 80s, but guess what else was fun back then? Using cocaine. That got us nowhere fast. I hope you're paying attention, Dan Fogler. Also, Kristen Bell was in it and for some reason when I picture her I imagine her as being cross-eyed...but I don't think she is. Sorry, Kristen. My brain wants you to be cross-eyed but that's not like a curse or anything. I don't know voodoo. She wasn't funny either though and in the one scene where she tries to look tough by smoking a cigar, and it totally looks like she's about to lip a dog turd and it was very unnatural and they should have cut that part out. Oh. Should I have said SPOILER first? I always mess that up.

I REALLY wanted Fanboys to be good. It was The Little Film That Could from the very beginning. It got limited studio support, very minimal marketing in the markets where it wasn't being released and was said to be a "labor of love" for the director. And who doesn't equate "labor" with "seamless production"?  The Weinstein Company even shelved the finished film for a couple years because, who knows why? (Actually, I could probably look that up, but HEY LOOK OVER THERE!!) The problem is, overall it feels generic and unfunny, like a prescription for herpes medicine that you've filled like a hundred times and now the pharmacists don't even smirk and you no longer have to be all "What? He or She LOOKED clean!". (See how not sexist I am? I'm pretty much the Susan B. Anthony of giving people pretend herpes.)

There were some standouts though. As always, Danny McBride comes in and saves the entire film at the end. If this guy isn't the funniest person working in film right now I will personally do something representative of my incredible surprise that seems like a disproportionate response to you, but you're not the boss of me, so too bad. Seriously though, McBride equals funny. When funny got pregnant and had it out with it's parents because it wanted to keep the baby even though that would mean giving up it's dream of being a skydiving gymnast who solves crimes and then it carried the baby to full term despite all the terrible rumors that were circulating about what a whore it was, that baby was Danny McBride. And the afterbirth was Dan Fogler. Zing!

So maybe rent Fanboys. It's got a couple funny bits. It's the funniest movie about a kid dying of cancer you'll probably ever see. I don't know if that's a glowing endorsement really but I'm trying to end this all upbeat, but if you think I failed maybe go have some ice cream and sit on your stoop and watch kids play hopscotch on the sidewalk or something. That's all I want for you...happiness. 

On a side note, the independent film 77 is almost finished and it stars the only kid from Freaks and Geeks besides Sam who isn't super-famous, John Francis Daly, as a kid struggling to fit in on the eve of the release of the Star War and it seems more touching and awww! than funny, but after Fanboys maybe that is just what I need. Here's a link to the trailer.

Comments

[LovelyLayla]

I don't think I like Dannny McBride. I don't get the whole white trash act in everything he does. I did enjoy him in Pineapple Express though...hilarious.

Thanks for covering this movie. I had read about it in Rolling Stone or EW and was intrigued. I think I am still going to check it out. I love movies where they use people who are naturally funny and sarcastic. Kinda over the whole Jim Carrey thing.

[Gina]

I thoroughly enjoyed Fanboys.

[Palinode]

Veronica Mars and the Reefer Madness musical sold me on Kristen Bell, and Danny McBride is like salt on a bland movie.

[~Infinity Cocks~]

Fuck. The trailer looked hilarious.

*sigh*

I had the same Grape Nuts experience. Brrrrr.

[anna]

When my brother watched this I had to get up out of the room to do stuff like feed the dogs, so I thought that Jay Baruchel and Dan Fogler were lying to the one guy about the other guy being sick to get the one guy to join the quest. I was so sad when I found out they weren't just lying.

I am not sure about Dan Fogler in film, but I love him to pieces on the cast recording of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

[Anissa@hope4peyton]

Best part of that movie was the Chewbacca-sound horn on the van. And THAT makes it worth a $4.00 rental.

[Miss Yvonne]

"I will personally do something representative of my incredible surprise that seems like a disproportionate response to you"...

That was the best part of this whole post. Love it!

[Victoria]

I entirely agree, except for one thing: the entire movie is worth seeing for the Kevin Smith cameo. I won't ruin it, but that scene is one of the funniest things I have seen all year.

[Julie]

John Francis Daly IS Sam.

[Kurt]

You are totally right. I was mixing up real Samm (who played Neil?) with Sam, played by John Francis Daly. Thank you.

[Kurt]

Thank You.

[Kurt]

That's actually the second time I heard his theater work was excellent.

[Kurt]

Dig. That was awesome.

[Kurt]

I didn't mean to make it sound awful...it wasn't. I was just hoping for more. I know a bunch of people who thought it was awesome. I'm just not one of them.

[Kurt]

Danny McBride is automatically funny to me. Like everything he says cracks me up.