Our Review…
“The Fanatic is a deliciously, freaky movie about the relationships between fans and celebrities. John Travolta’s fantastic performance gives us a sympathetic character in Moose as Lenny was to Of Mice and Men.”
~ Marcus Blake – That Nerd Show
“An intriguing look at the relationship between fans and celebrities in today’s society is the film, The Fanatic. John Travolta’s interpretation of both the lonely and psychotic fan who needs connection is a fascinating reminder that violence and lunacy lurk inside us all. Like the bizarre freak shows of the past, you won’t be able to look away.”
~ Allison Costa – That Nerd Show
John Travolta’s, The Fanatic is one of those deliciously freakish films that you can’t turn away from….it’s a very interesting film that offer’s a great commentary about the relationship between fans and celebrities. And that’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m not going to say that it’s a great film, I certainly don’t think it’s a horrible film even though I know some critics will pan it. But it’s definitely one of those films that you have to keep watching to see what’s going to happen next. Perhaps that’s the beauty of this film.
John Travolta’s latest project has him starring as a mentally challenged innocent fan who is driving to the point of being a fanatic when it comes to his favorite movie star. Travolta’s character Who is named Moose is very much like Lenny from Of Mice and Men who is not only tragic, but you feel a sympathy for even when he’s doing bad things. The film really sparks a great debate about the line between fans and celebrities, and what makes us cross that line. The main story is a fan named Moose, who loves Hollywood and a certain movie star named Hunter Dunbar. When he meets him, it doesn’t turn out like he wants. You know how they say you should never meet your heroes because you’ll be disappointed, that’s very true with this film. It’s also interesting that the quote at the beginning of the film is not from a real person, but a quote from one of the main characters as if it’s gospel. I don’t think that’s ever been done before.
I can’t say that this is a film that you’re going to watch again. I watch this film and I very much felt like I was watching Vanilla Sky again with Tom Cruise. I had to go through that experience and it sparked a great conversation about hidden meanings in films. That’s what The Fanatic does, especially when trying to answer the question if there is a true villain. In my interview with John Travolta, he said something how about the character Hunter Dunbar that really points to one of the main themes of the film….”Hunter Dunbar is not a bad guy, he is a bad celebrity.” Those two things are not one in the same and that makes for a very interesting discussion.
You feel sympathetic for moose, but you also know that he’s doing a lot of bad things that are off-putting and make you feel disgusted as an audience, but again, you can’t help but feel sympathetic because he was wrong by his hero. The invasion of privacy by John Travolta’s character, moose is the most horrific part of this film. I don’t know if I would classify The Fanatic as a horror film, but it definitely strikes and our senses much like a horror film would. This film puts us in a weird place and that’s probably what I really love about The Fanatic. Fred Durst, the director has given us a freakish journey that we have to see until the end because it strikes at our very nature where we have to see what the final resolution is in any situation. And while I will not give it away, there’s a very interesting dynamic between the two main characters.
We probably won’t be talking about this film in a hundred years like Citizen Kane or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, but even though it’s probably just a good one-timer, it is definitely worthy of discussion. It reminds me, are the kind of feeling we would watch in college and then go out and discuss over cheap drinks with are artistic friends. And to me that makes a good film. John Travolta’s performance is what makes this film worth watching. His transformation into something creepy and off-putting, but sympathetic is a testament that he’s not a “has been” even if you haven’t seen him in a major Hollywood film over the last decade. John Travolta proves that he still a great actor after 40 years. Maybe his character, Moose is not as entertaining as Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction, but he invites us on a worthwhile journey with his character and doesn’t disappoint.
No, it’s not a great film, it’s merely okay. But it also reminds us what the line should be between fans and celebrities. Because everybody can have a bad day and be a dick. But everybody, including celebrities who deserve to have private lives and not to be bothered by stalkerish fans. It was worth watching this film just so I could have a really good conversation with the other review our reviewer, Allison Costa who would have never picked this kind of film for herself to watch as entertainment. But the fact that it made us look at things differently, the film did its job in that regard and I fans can appreciate that kind of film. And it’s on that basis, I give this a 7…. It’s merely okay, but the discussion that we can have about the themes in this film will be great…that’s why you should check it out whether you see it as a matinee or rent this movie from Redbox or on Apple TV.
