Lady Gaga is arguably the North American celebrity who is most aware of her fans, dubbed “Little Monsters”. And why not? When fans number in the millions, they’re bound to make ripples, if not waves, in culture.
Furthermore, when you have millions of fans, a few of them are bound to stand out. Celebrity fans will write creepy-but-addictive real-person fanfiction. Television ones may petition for a sequel, un-cancelling a season, or film their own entirely. Occasionally they’ll go completely mad and dedicate their life to destroying their former idols.
Here are five movies about fans.
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Eighteen years after a science fiction show is cancelled, the jaded cast is approached at a convention by a delegation of actual aliens with no concept of fiction to save their civilization from a genocidal warlord. The cast is forced to assume their onboard roles once more, but this time on a real live working version of the NSEA Protector.
Galaxy Quest is a loving parody of the original Star Trek franchise, down to the egotistic, oft-topfree captain (Tim Allen), token logical alien (Alan Rickman), and sole female bridge member (Sigourney Weaver). As such, it is much better to watch it with at least a fleeting familiarity with TOS’s hamminess, poor special effects, and television “logic” for drama’s sake. Of course I didn’t know that the first time I saw it on TV, though ten-year-old me still found Galaxy Quest moderately amusing.
Almost Famous (2000)
In 1973, William Miller (Patric Fugit) is a 15-year old rock journalist. A twist of fate with lead guitarist Russell (Billy Crudup) sends William on a Rolling Stone assignment to document the up-and-coming band Stillwater on tour. This is a coming-of-age story with groupies, drugs, and rigorous fact-checking.
Sad things occasionally happen in Almost Famous but optimism and a gentle touch on serious subjects prevent it from becoming an extremely depressing movie along the lines of Requiem for a Dream. The characters are infused with hope and treated with respect. William came from a loving family, and it shows when he consults adults and makes logical decisions under pressure. Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) might be a teenage groupie, but she insists she follows the band for philosophical reasons – even when sold to a different band for $50 and a case of beer.
Son of Rambow (2007)
In the 1980s, two sprouts from the opposite sides of the tracks (Bill Milner and Will Poulter) work to recreate the enchantment of Rambo: First Blood, but its production strains their budding friendship.
The charm of this movie comes from watching the two young director-writers-actors perform Sylvestor Stallone’s stunts in a sleepy bucolic playground. But unlike Almost Famous or Super 8, their actions appear to have few consequences: a school is set on fire, a dog is stolen, and a jeep has an accident with a pile of scrap metal. Despite an in-universe deadline for the boys to submit their film to a contest, there is little urgency to the film. It’s like watching a gifted fifth grader construct a science fair project: I couldn’t care more than occasionally coo at the precociousness.
The Incredibles (2004)
The golden age of superheroes have passed, and Mr. Incredible is living a mundane life as an insurance agent, with his wife and three superpowered children. Craving the excitement of his heyday, he falls for a deranged ex-fan’s plot to re-install himself as a hero.
This film proved that Pixar didn’t have to anthropomorphize toys or animals to tell a human story. Sure, I enjoyed Finding Nemo and Toy Story, but The Incredibles packs exuberance like a comic book. I can’t think of another superhero movie that is so tightly wound or hyperphysically coloured. And I never liked talking cars anyway.
Super 8 (2011)
In 1979 Lilian, Ohio, Charles (Riley Griffiths) and Joe (Joel Courtney) are filming a low-budget zombie movie using a Super 8 camera for an international film competition. They do a scene in a train depot to add “production value”, but the shoot is interrupted by a massive train accident, beginning a chain of strange events in the town.
Super 8 captures adolescent behaviour beautifully, even as the increasingly prominent science fiction subplot eclipses Charles’ zombie film. You may ask, why a science fiction conspiracy and not a zombie one? Well, to have a zombie uprising destroy Charles’ zombie flick would be overly ironic to the point of black comedy. Furthermore, Super 8 was produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by JJ Abrams. As such, Super 8 boasts a blockbuster backbone with deft nostalgic touches strongly reminiscent of E.T. I adore this movie.
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