The Fanatic
/”All he wanted as an autograph.”
Filmology Rating: 2 out of 4
Star of 'Battlefield Earth' and 'Gotti', John Travolta is back in his twentieth film of the year directed by Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit. Produced by Redbox... John Travolta portrays a crazed fan who is very much on-the-spectrum. Moose (Travolta) desperately wants an autograph from his favorite actor, Hunter Dunbar. How far will Moose go for his fandom? Essentially, it's 'What About Bob' meets 'Taxi Driver.' This film had been widely made fun of by everyone-mostly because of John Travolta. People have pinned this up as the newest film that critics can throw darts at. I'm here to tell you that it's not as bad as everyone says.
This is just a bizarrely executed film. It's a very blunt and obvious film about fandom and how being too dedicated to something will drive you to extreme circumstances *Star Wars fans.* It's not even subtext; it's right there.
If you take John Travolta out of the film, you have a pretty mediocre film about fandom. However, it's John Travolta that makes your brain twist into a pretzel trying to figure out what he's trying to do with the character. Not only is it Travolta's performance that makes you question your sanity, it's the writing and what the script asks of him. It's a film where if several things were just tuned up, this would be a fairly well-executed film. But it's not executed well. And that's what makes it just a little off.
It's actually shot very well. Which again, is what makes the outcome of the film so confusing in its intentions.
I'm not even going to blame John Travolta. This is going to be pinned on poor direction and writing. Travotla is playing a mentally challenged person and that's a very tough rope to balance on nowadays.
There are also very odd post-production choices such as voice-over from a character who really doesn't do anything or have anything to do with the main characters or narrative. Also weird drawings throughout the film that attempts to give a quirky-indy vibe to it
There is also no story or likeable characters. The plot becomes very repetitive. Moose (Travolta) sees his idol. Tries to get autograph. Fails. Repeat. And the biggest issue is that no characters are likeable. Moose is very unlikable and it's unclear how you're supposed to feel about him. The film presents Moose as a likeable schlub in a way. Similar to Dustin Hoffman in 'Rain Man.' But everything Moose does is bordering a horror film.
Which begs the question: what genre is this film trying to tackle. Some call it a horror film. Others call it a thriller/mystery, but the film has zero elements of a mystery at all. It's very strange. By the end of the film, you don't know who to side with or what to be feeling.
It's a very bizarre film that, with the right tuning, could actually be decent. It is also not a laugh-a-minute film either. The film's downfall is poor writing and logic in the script with a memorizingly weird performance from John Travolta.
Rating: Rent It
-Nolan