The Fanatic…where do I start?
John Travolta stars as “Moose”, an autistic man who collects autographs and movie memorabilia. Obsessed with actor Hunter Dubar (Devon Sawa), “Moose” will stop at nothing to get close to his favorite actor.
Travolta, rocking a terrible mullet, mimics what I assume he thinks is the way an autistic man would talk and act. Within the first few minutes I felt gross just for watching it. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not the fact that Travolta impersonates an autistic person, it’s the way that he did it. It just feels off and it is extremely one dimensional. For example, Leonardo Di Caprio in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape was brilliant. That’s how that’s done.
Written and directed by Fred Durst (yes, that Fred Durst, the one from Limp Bizkit) the movie left me wondering what Durst’s original vision was and if this is close. Maybe he did it all for the nooky. Sorry, that was cheesy. This is not Durst’s first film that he’s directed, so that can’t be used as an excuse. Truth is, there is no excuse for this movie.
There are so many ridiculous scenes, like the one where Sawa’s character is in the car with his son and he actually talks about how much he loves Limp Bizkit. Really? My god, someone needed his ego stroked.
The dialogue throughout the film felt forced and unnatural. Like the cast were phoning it in, if you know what I mean. And oh my god, I have to talk about this first line of this movie. Travolta’s first line is “Can’t talk long. Gotta poop.” Really? This is how Durst introduces the main character? The voice-over is almost as bad. Why do we need someone to translate what’s going on for us? It’s almost insulting like we don’t understand basic plots. And I do mean basic.
Another problem this movie has is that it’s not easy to find empathy for either lead roles. Moose is a crazy killer stalker, and Sawa’s character is just a dick. So who are we meant to identify with? Who are meant to cheer for? The answer is no one.
And the ending, what the actual hell? Talk about unrealistic! Ugh!
I realize that one of the goals of the film was to make you feel uneasy, and it did, but not in a good way. It’s awkward and is filled with bad decisions, like making the movie in the first place.
There is no original idea (celebrities have had stalkers forever), there’s no clever twist, the dialogue was labored, and the acting was lackluster. There is literally zero redeemable qualities for this rubbish. It’s almost laughable.
This is the lowest moment in Travolta’s entire career. I guess the real question is will he have a career after this train wreck?
I’m giving The Fanatic a score of 1 out 5, and that’s being generous. It’s no surprise it flopped at the box office. Save yourself the trouble and go watch something, pretty much anything else.
Dazzler Media presents The Fanatic on Digital June 8th, followed by its release on DVD on July 6, 2020.
