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Avg. Critic Score: 45 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    At times, Fanboys is every rowdy low-budget '80s road movie you've ever seen on Cinemax at 2 in the morning. What keeps the movie near, if not actually in, hyperdrive is its love of deep-dish geek culture and a gaggle of cameo appearances. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Delayed a couple of years, shown to fans at conventions and retooled, Fanboys is an uneven and largely predictable adventure, but it has its moments. Read full review

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Mildly cute, mildly drooly, majorly too late spoof/homage. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety |

    End result feels like an uneven cross between an amateur "Project Greenlight" pic and such recent comedies as "Superbad" and "Pineapple Express," in which indie directors brought a certain edge to material that might once have felt more at home under the National Lampoon label. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Neil Genzlinger

    There are enough good jokes in Fanboys, a road comedy about geeks on a "Star Wars"-related quest, to satisfy hard-core fans of that George Lucas franchise. But the film doesn't have the boosters, or thrusters, or whatever, to elevate it to more ambitious heights; it's weighed down by tired conventions and a general sense of having missed its moment. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times |

    Fanboys doesn't have a fan's obsessive attention to detail, or the giddy geekiness that can make Tarantino's movies both thrilling and trying. It's not nearly nerdy enough. Read full review

  • 40
    Washington Post |

    The result has a cobbled-together feeling. The Force is not strong with this one. Read full review

  • 40
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    Given how insultingly fanboys are portrayed, even the fan base could be put off. Read full review

  • 38
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    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. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle |

    Uninspired and only faintly funny. Read full review

View more reviews for Fanboys on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ The Force isn't with crude story of fandom and friendship.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this Star Wars-centered comedy really pushes the limits for PG-13, with lots of swearing (including "f--k" and "s--t"), drinking, smoking, and sexual content (particularly discussions of sex and sex acts, though naked butts are also shown). That said, under all the rude and crude comedy is a message about friendship and believing in something.
  • Families can talk about why they think this movie was rated PG-13 instead of R. Does it seem that different from other crude comedies that did earn R ratings? If so, how? 
  • Discuss the overall cultural impact -- for good and for ill -- of Star Wars.
  • How have George Lucas' films changed how we watch movies? How have they affected what kids of movies get made?
  • What happens when someone's love for a piece of pop culture goes a little too far?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: There's a message about friendship hiding here (the lead characters are willing to do anything for a terminally ill friend), but it's overshadowed by plenty of iffy stuff. On the up side, a real, sincere relationship blossoms between two of the leads -- in contrast to less meaningful dalliances and attractions -- but women are also fairly marginalized characters overall.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: Charcters partipcate in a break-in (it's well-intentioned, but...), and there's lots of bathroom humor.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Comedic scuffling and flailing, mostly ineffectual and inept. Some mock-martial arts action and weapons violence (quarterstaff combat, science-fiction replica weapons), all for comedic effect. A man is hurled from a van; a van drives toward people on foot.
  • sex false3 Sex: Nude buttocks, both male and female, are shown as passersby are "mooned"; other implied nudity. Sexual situations (kissing, etc) -- both in the context of a relationship and with young women who turn out to be escorts. A young man meets face-to-face with his "cyber girlfriend," only to discoverthat she's approximately 10 years old ("I'm a pedophile," he shrieks). Many digressions about sex, sex acts, sexual conduct, and sexual prowess. A gay bar is depicted as a den of iniquity. A joke revolves around male homosexual prostitution.
  • language false4 Language: Lots of strong language, including "f--k," "bitches," "fag" (as an insult), "s--t," "Jesus Murphy" (as an exclamation), "cornhole," "man package," "penis," "dickhead," "a--hole," "pimp-slap," "whores," "dips--t," and much, much more. "The finger" is given.
  • consumerism false4 Consumerism: The entire film revolves around a group's quest to see Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace prior to its release; the movie is a constant series of references to the fantasy-world myths and real-world genesis of the Star Wars saga. Other brands mentioned or shown include Star Trek; iPhone; Palm Pilot; The Rocketeer; Top Gun; Paramount/Viacom; Lucasfilm; Six Days, Seven Nights; Raiders of the Lost Ark; Batman; Priceline; and many more.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink beer and hard liquor to excess; scenes take place in bars. Characters smoke cigars and cigarettes and are given Peyote-laced guacamole; a terminally ill character is given a large amount of Peyote. Prescription drugs are administered by a physician.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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