"Fanboys": A "Star Wars"-cult parody long past its prime

"Fanboys" presents itself as a teen road-trip comedy with higher aspirations for social relevance. It's aimed at a generational audience that adores the mindless shtick of dirty jokes and unremarkable physical humor, but it also wants to connect with "Star Wars" geeks still obsessed with all things George Lucas. While it may score some points as an extended in-joke, the mix of juvenile comedy and insider asides is arcane, snobby and just not very funny.

Pop culture may have been riper for the premise eight or nine years ago when round two of "Star Wars" fever was still running hot. A group of friends who went gaga over "Episode IV" as little boys re-bond 20 years later on a stealth mission to Lucas' Skywalker Ranch to heist an advance print of "Episode I."

The publicity frenzy was at a legitimate peak in those days when Lucas successfully re-energized his mythology. But nearly a decade later, both the script and the movie are well past their prime. The four geeky guys — Eric (Sam Huntington), Linus (Chris Marquette), Hutch (Dan Fogler) and Windows (Jay Baruchel) — plus one geeky girl, Zoe (Kristen Bell), have lost a childhood bond that they associate with Luke, Leia, Han and Vader. In an effort to recapture that spirit, they pile into a van to make the journey from suburban Ohio to Lucas headquarters in Northern California. In addition to the constant string of insider-y gags about "Star Wars" esoterica, there's plenty of requisite crudity in the slapdash, low-budget expedition. There are also a string of famous cameos and bit players that marginally enhance the fun.

In an attempt to lend dramatic pathos, one of the gang has terminal cancer, so the trip bears the weight of fulfilling a dying wish for them all. The way this plot point is revealed comes across like another joke, leaving an open-mouthed reaction that's as insipid as it is maudlin.

"Fanboys" might resonate with those nostalgic for the silliness of "Star Wars" mania, but for the rest of us that heyday was long ago and far, far away.

Ted Fry: tedfry@hotmail.com