George Lucas is rather contrary. On the one hand he keeps a Darth Vader death grip on his property and will sue anyone who dares to even think about contravening a Lucasfilm licence (as documented in THE PEOPLE VS GEORGE LUCAS). On the other hand he will happily allow a select number of people (as in famous fans) to make fun of what he is so desperately protecting. Robot Chicken and Family Guy have done brilliant piss takes of the movies, as have the Star Wars Tales comics, adding humour to Lucas's galaxy.

Back at SCI-FI-LONDON 4 we showed a low-budget movie called SAVING STAR WARS. Set in 2002, it is about a jaded fan who has become totally disillusioned with the first two prequels. However, his terminally ill son wants to see the third movie before he dies, so he sets off with his best friend to convince Lucas to keep making the movies. It's a fun movie but suffers from a lack of production values.

In 2008 came a movie that is set just prior to the release of PHANTOM MENACE, again with a terminally ill fan, except this time it is made with professional cast and crew, and the heroes are attempting to break into Skywalker Ranch to see an early edit of the film before it is too late. SAVING STAR WARS had a certain charm to it, and some funny moments, but FANBOYS is in a different league. Think of it as Freaks and Geeks meets CLERKS by way of DUDE WHERE'S MY CAR (or any other similar road movie).

It's hard to understand why this film wasn't released in the UK when it first came out (without going into the actual machinations). Maybe people (as in distributors) were thinking it would have limited appeal because it would only be fully appreciated and understood by STAR WARS fans. However, STAR WARS fans is hardly limited appeal, as the 30-year-old series is one of the biggest movie franchises ever, and if only half the fans saw it that would still made it a substantial hit. Admittedly it is full of insider jokes but it is still a hilarious movie that is more than a match for anything from Judd Apatow, Will Farrell or Kevin Smith. In fact, in terms of geek banter its only real competitor is Smith's CLERKS movies, so it is only fitting that Smith should make a cameo. There are also cameos from Carrie Fischer, Billy Dee Williams and Ray Park as well as the legend that is William Shatner. There are many others but I don't want to give them all away. The leads – Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel and Kristen Bell – are all totally believable as the geeky fanboys (fanpersons?), which is why the film works.

You don't have to be a STAR WARS fan or of a geeky disposition to enjoy this movie, but it does help, and it certainly works well watched with a crowd of likeminded people. Get in some beers, or maybe something from the Chief, because you will laugh yourself silly.

FANBOYS is out now on DVD and Blu-ray and is available from Play and all good retailers.

FANBOYS - full trailer - see it with SCI-FI-LONDON
Uploaded by SFLTV. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

We have three DVD copies of the film, signed by director Kyle Newman, to give away courtesy of Anchor Bay. Click on the link below to enter the competition