← Back to Reviews
in
The first line of dialogue spoken by our lead character is..."I can't stay long, I've got to poo." Ladies and gentlemen, I present John Travolta at his lowest. The Fanatic is such an odd movie that I don't know if I should be offended by the performance, hate myself for laughing at it or simply go for the ride and try to find some Tommy Wiseau level of trash in between the lines.
Moose is a movie fan and his favourite movie star is Hunter Dumbar. When a chance to get his autograph slips away from him, he goes a little off the deep end and becomes a stalker. Don't call him a stalker though, he hates that word.
I honestly don't know where to start. Do we begin with the wardrobe and make-up decisions John Travolta has? The fact that Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst is directing this film? Or how about the fact that Dumbar asks his son if he's ever heard of Limp Bizkit and then proceeds to blast some of their tunes? I couldn't believe that part actually happened. Can anyone be anymore self indulgent?
The story is told from Travolta's perspective, but there is narration from a third character. His friend who is a paparazzi. Why? Why are we being narrated by one person and seeing the film through the eyes of another? It's illogical. I guess they didn't want Travolta narrating due to the way he speaks. Moose is socially slow and has trouble comprehending day to day social cues. Some people may be offended by the performance or question whether it's okay to laugh at the ridiculousness on the screen.
Moose crosses the line when he trespasses and won't take no for an answer. Dumbar is immediately hostile to Moose when he sees him. All he wants is an autograph and Dunbar threatens him with violence. We are given no one to root for in this film. Both sides are wrong, both sides are ridiculous. The film doesn't know how to deal with the toxicity of extreme fandom, it feels hollow and one would go watch DeNiro and Snipes in The Fan instead.
The Fanatic
The first line of dialogue spoken by our lead character is..."I can't stay long, I've got to poo." Ladies and gentlemen, I present John Travolta at his lowest. The Fanatic is such an odd movie that I don't know if I should be offended by the performance, hate myself for laughing at it or simply go for the ride and try to find some Tommy Wiseau level of trash in between the lines.
Moose is a movie fan and his favourite movie star is Hunter Dumbar. When a chance to get his autograph slips away from him, he goes a little off the deep end and becomes a stalker. Don't call him a stalker though, he hates that word.
I honestly don't know where to start. Do we begin with the wardrobe and make-up decisions John Travolta has? The fact that Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst is directing this film? Or how about the fact that Dumbar asks his son if he's ever heard of Limp Bizkit and then proceeds to blast some of their tunes? I couldn't believe that part actually happened. Can anyone be anymore self indulgent?
The story is told from Travolta's perspective, but there is narration from a third character. His friend who is a paparazzi. Why? Why are we being narrated by one person and seeing the film through the eyes of another? It's illogical. I guess they didn't want Travolta narrating due to the way he speaks. Moose is socially slow and has trouble comprehending day to day social cues. Some people may be offended by the performance or question whether it's okay to laugh at the ridiculousness on the screen.
Moose crosses the line when he trespasses and won't take no for an answer. Dumbar is immediately hostile to Moose when he sees him. All he wants is an autograph and Dunbar threatens him with violence. We are given no one to root for in this film. Both sides are wrong, both sides are ridiculous. The film doesn't know how to deal with the toxicity of extreme fandom, it feels hollow and one would go watch DeNiro and Snipes in The Fan instead.