I’ll start by saying I saw approximately half of “Love Happens” (my explanation on twitter), so I’m deferring the overall rating to my wife… but even she wasn’t overly excited after seeing this one.

You should know that “Love Happens” is not a typical romantic comedy, sort of like Jennifer Aniston’s other recent movie “Marley & Me” wasn’t really completely a comedy… mostly because some of the material is more dramatic than comedic.

 From what I saw (my explanation on twitter), “Love Happens” was different, but also slow and at the same time, typical and formulaic… almost cliche.

Smart boy (Aaron Eckhart) meets clever girl (Aniston)… sure its different because he’s something we don’t see much in rom-coms (a motivational speaker) and she’s a florist… but the way they meet and things start is all mostly storylines we’ve seen before in the multitude of  rom-coms churned out over the last three decades.

Aniston’s character is similiar to many of the characters we’ve seen her play before, especially similiar to “Rachel” from “Friends”.   Eckhart is in a different role, but also similiar to the way he has played conflicted characters before.  The two don’t have the kind of chemistry we’ve come to expect in romantic comedies… I’m not going to say they were just going through the motions, but there was little connection on screen, and less with the audience.

In the end, the movie focuses more on how Eckhart’s character is dealing with his problems than an actual romance between the two.  If you’re expecting a “Sleepless in Seattle” sweet budding love story, you’ll be disappointed – just because its set in Seattle (and all the cliche typical shots of Seattle), its not on the same level as “Sleepless in Seattle”.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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 I know, I know, this is the 2nd review in a row that I’ve put the clapboards “See It” and Wait to Rent”… that’s because some people really should “See It” and others probably should “Wait to Rent” the movie “Fanboys”, which is in limited release and now playing in West Michigan at Celebration! Rivertown in Grandville.

“Star Wars” nerds, geeks, dorks, freaks, … or… fanboys, as I would more loving call myself… are going to love this movie.

Eventhough this movie took years to be released from concept to 5 different release dates (see below)… I think in the end for anyone with legitimate Star Wars interest and also children of the 1980’s… this movie was worth the wait.
 

(Spoiler-free !!!)  The core intended audience of “Fanboys” are fans of the Star Wars franchise… but even those with a love of Star Wars without the “geek” level knowledge of the Star Wars universe will also enjoy this movie.

Its a road trip movie about Star Wars fans, produced by and starring some Star Wars fans, devoted to Star Wars fans… which means Trekkies should be on alert.

The movie centers on two friends who lost touch but reunite in 1998 in the months before the release of “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” and their journey is motivated by one of the friends’ diagnosis of terminal cancer… making the trip to Skywalker Ranch essential because the friend may not live to actually see the movie in theaters.

The film was originally scheduled to be released in August 2007, but it was pushed back to January 2008 because of a larger budget allocated to director Kyle Newman to shoot additional scenes.  But, as the story goes, the re-shoot director cut out the cancer motivation in the storyline, but it was later added back in after Newman compiled the final cut of the movie.  The new release date was scheduled for September 2008, but two weeks before its release, another new release date was announced for November 2008.   After being pushed back again, the final release date was moved to February 6, 2009.

“Fanboys” has all the right “Star Wars” references, cliches, and cameos (I won’t spoil it here)… and not too many that could make it cheesy or a flat out joke aimed at “Star Wars” fans.  This movie had us laughing throughout, but not just for the non-stop “Star Wars” references (and even the pop quizes that I aced)… but also for the 1980’s references and the settings that transported us back to 1998.  

The one-liners and “Star Wars” references will keep you laughing and so will the references to movies like “Top Gun”, “Dirty Dancing”, ”THX 1138″, and “Back to the Future” and TV shows like “Alf”, “Night Court”, “G.I. Joe” and “Scooby Doo”.

The cast that was put together were mostly unknowns at the time, but since shooting this movie, Kristen Bell has gone on to “Heroes” (NBC), Craig Robinson and David Denman are known for their roles on “The Office” (NBC), Ethan Suplee is Earl’s brother on “My Name is Earl” (NBC), and Will Forte is an even bigger name these days on “Saturday Night Live” (NBC).     Seth Rogen has starred in “Superbad” (2007), “Knocked Up” (2007), “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” (2008), “Pineapple Express” (2008), and “Kung Fu Panda” (2008)… Jay Baruchel starred in “Tropic Thunder” (2008)…   Dan Fogler was in “Balls of Fury” (2007) and “Good Luck Chuck” (2007)… and Sam Huntington is in “Tug”, a movie shot in Holland, Michigan and produced by TicTock Studios, set for release sometime in 2009.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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