Fanboys

Fanboys (2008)
Written by (movie) Ernest Cline, Adam F. Goldberg (story) Ernest Cline, Dan Pulick, millions of disillusioned 30-odd-year-olds
Directed by Kyle Newman
Starring Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell, Seth Rogen, Seth Rogen

Synopsis
 before the biggest upset of all time (to star wars fans), friends go on a journey to skywalker ranch to break in and see episode 1 before one of them dies of some sort of terminal cancer. hijinks.
MOster
This movie plays as a series of funny bits--most of which were in the trailer--connected by a series of unfunny bits.  This could be said of the majority of comedies, but the ratio was off.  It didn't live up to its potential (or my expectations), but that gap might have been too much to overcome.

The premise is definitely rife with opportunity.  95%+ of the people who watched Ode to a Farting Dinosaur My Daughter Found In Her Armpit One Midsummer Morning had similar buildup experiences even if their misadventures weren't quite so extreme.  And at an outline level it still comes through as having a good place to go.  The characters weren't caricatures or archetypes or parodies; I'm sure there are plenty of similar people around. (For the record, I wasn't nearly as crazy as even the Kristen Bell character and I was the worst of my particular circle).

There wasn't too much to this from a technical standpoint.  Things were all shot well and people were told to do things the right way.  What little action and "wonder" scenes there were came across the screen well, and the close-quarters stuff (i.e. parties and vans and the like) felt like what I remember from being a social MOster. The bit about Paramount not letting them use their IP was played well into poorly-made Trek paraphernalia knockoffs.

There was a real plot to this movie, and each of the characters (down to the Klingon guy who guards the inside man source) was unique and reasonably well-played by his or her proxy.  MAYBE Seth Rogen was a little too over the top, but only a little.  The subplot about the cancer was as good a motivation as any and the entire experience was almost as full of cameos as it was full of sorrow for what we knew the people were going to have to handle.

There was nothing technically wrong with this movie.  What it boils down to is that it just wasn't funny enough. 

The Woman
this was kind of a disappointment. much like the experience of episode 1 itself. i enjoyed all the walk-ons, but it didn't redeem the not funny of this movie. some bits were funny, but they were few and far between. being a trek and star wars dork myself, i know how much material there is to work with. this did not scratch the dorkdom funny surface. that all said i think the end of it was perfect. in fact, i may go as far as it was better than the movie. not the sappy reflection part. the actual end.