WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Reach for the stars and don’t let anyone stand in your way, make you give up, or even remotely believe they have any true ability to dissuade you from achieving greatness–even if it might take a try–or two–or three. The fortitude to stand firmly on the foundation of personal ideologies and their accompanying convictions to see a goal and attain it is no small feat. When those guaranteed obstacles rise up, it becomes the point of no return or an abrupt end to your dream. How will you face it? For Beauford, South Carolina video store clerk Jeremiah (Fran Kranz), the peak is auditioning to play a major part in his idolized Hollywood director Sam Raimi’s (himself) newest project.
Despite the negative demeanor towards his aspirations coming from multiple sides via his boss Greg (Reggie Lee) and his co-worker Tracy (Emily Arlook), whom they both pine for, Jeremiah takes the action he needs to arrive in Los Angeles and meet up with his cousin Todd (Jed Rees) who makes the first attempts to get his kin “plugged in” to the Hollywood machine. Facing failure after failure through the avenues presented to him by Todd, Todd’s “manager” Ben (Matt Lanter), and his own desperate run-in with Raimi’s ego-driven agent Josh Goldman (Gonzalo Menendez), a chance, last-ditch encounter brings about a sudden turn of events that could spell the spark of huge new beginnings or a hard lesson about being in “the game”.
Next, my Mind:
An absolute must-see for anyone who’s ever had a dream, no matter whether infinitesimally small or universally monumental, much less who’s chosen to put it all out there, defy the odds, exited their comfort zones, and just went for it even in the face of daunting impediments, drawbacks, dashed hopes, and the inward temptation to toss in the towel, this 40-minute short film effort from writer/director Gillian Greene wears both its innocently playful comedy and genuinely heartfelt, affecting drama on its sleeve with beautiful intent and purposeful challenge to any of us wanting to see an ambitious objective become reality. What serves this wonderfully-crafted piece of indie film wonder so excellently is the sheer accessibility and relatability the narrative’s focus allows the viewer to engage with thanks to a truly real-world focus and totally grounded premise which this critic, in so many respects, can personally connect with when it comes to understanding and learning that to reach the levels of success one strives for, you will have to have a willingness to go against all the doubt within yourself and that is, sadly, put upon you by others in order to arrive to the actuality you can not only achieve your target, but potentially experience it beyond what you could have ever imagined.
Now, this said, the film is also more than adept at showcasing how difficult the path can be, and there are prices to be paid along with way that you will need to face, despite many of these facets being purposefully overplayed and/or exaggerated for the sake of a myriad of intelligently hilarious comedic moments throughout. The exploration of dealing with rejection, on numerous levels, is also dealt with here, and for this critic, often made up the more stirring sequences offered, deftly utilized to make us be fully invested in the lead character’s plight to such a feasibly real degree, causing us to root for him even more. Add to all of this build up a finale that is so astutely brought about in an impactful fashion that shines a revealing light, with acute transparency, on the realities of Hollywood and the industry as a whole, not with intent to “harm”, but not pulling any punches either. Yet, in this, there is the ultimately touching moment that seals the story’s end which makes the grander whole both a cautionary tale and utterly inspirational call-to-action that this critic would honestly hope profoundly influences the masses just as much as it so easily entertains thanks to its well-chosen cast, expertly filmed visuals, and deeply human sensibilities underneath all the fun.
Speaking of cast, it was quite a treat to see Kranz strut his “everyman” stuff with effectiveness and total credibility through his role as Jeremiah, a young, altogether regular, middle-class guy who works a decidedly menial job for the sake of survival but clearly has much larger notions in his head, whether it being his future career or the consistently forsaken hopes of getting with his beautiful co-worker Tracy. Upon randomly discovering that his highly venerated Hollywood icon Sam Raimi is looking to cast for a part he knows so well he could do it in his sleep, Jeremiah bucks all that stands in his way, gets to Los Angeles, and embarks on one outrageously admirable adventure to gain access to one of Raimi’s casting sessions, finding himself confronting disappointment after disappointment with a growing hopelessness as each circumstance stops him from getting to his goal. Yet, at the lowest of times, the situation takes a turn for the unexpected and things seem to be going nowhere but up. However, whether he gets to end up maintaining the mountaintop position remains uncertain, but when it all comes down to it, he gains an eye-opening perspective and newly founded determination that’s a win no matter what. Throughout the film, Kranz is simply masterful in creating this lovable character to cheer for while giving us his equally deft comedic delivery that causes more than a fair share of chuckles. For me, it reminded me how much I love watching an actor PLAY a regular Joe/wanna-be actor so convincingly and with enough charismatic poise that I even more so appreciate the talent being displayed in the performance, as Kranz does.
Primary supporting turns are numerous and filled with such an incredible cadre of outstanding character actors, including Rees as Jeremiah’s quite silly cousin Todd, who loves throwing out tips about how to make it in Hollywood while being a seriously struggling, not-so-great actor himself, Lanter as Ben, Todd’s supposed big time “manager” whose name isn’t the key to the kingdom as Todd would have Jeremiah believe, Menendez as Sam Raimi’s hilariously ego-centric agent that gives Jeremiah a little taste of demeaning pomposity, Sam Raimi as himself, which honestly speaks for itself and the success story he represents while putting forth a very apropos performance, Arlook as Jeremiah’s unrequited love Tracy, who really doesn’t see him like he wishes and mainly treats him with a friendly manner yet mild neglect, and Lee as Jeremiah’s video store boss Greg, who definitely has eyes for Tracy and who seems to feel his minion’s fantasy to be cast in a Raimi film is exactly that, Dileep Rao as a fellow audition attender, Mike Binder as a bitingly witty acting coach whom Jeremiah takes a “lesson” from, Jillian Armenante as a rather put-off casting assistant, Dayo Ade as a CAA Security Guard who becomes a thorn in Jeremiah’s side for a brief time, and Ian Bohen as Craft restaurant’s snobby Maître D’. Additional appearances are made by J.K. Simmons, David Paymer, Eugenia Kuzmina, Ryan Pinkston, Eric Matheny, B.J. Britt, Tahmus Rounds, John Papsidera, Khary Payton, Rich Ceraulo Ko, Suzanne Keilly, Emma Raimi, and Charlotte Newhouse.
In total, with its entirely unpretentious, thoroughly whimsical comedic antics, charming performances, and relevant messages about being the underdog, pushing for a dream, never surrendering to mountains in front of you while taking your lumps, and treasuring the time to genuinely appreciate the significance of even the smallest victories won, “Fanboy” is a richly executed indie short film that deserves its time in the sun as an encouragement to us all to stay the course and, as the film so eloquently weaves into its story, “just throw”.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
