[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIxmVwP3ROI]
At first, Keri Russell’s character in the upcoming movie Austenland (in select U.S. theaters Aug. 16) might seem a little bit over-the-top in her obsession with Pride & Prejudice. It’s specifically the BBC’s movie version of the Austen classic—and the movie’s vision of Mr. Darcy—that gets to her. So effectively, in fact, that spends her savings on a trip to the titular resort, a place where she and her fellow fans can live out their Austen fantasies.
(MORE: Happy 200th Birthday, Pride & Prejudice…and Happy Sundance, Too)
But then again, looking at the canon of cinematic works about the fan experience, having the hots for Mr. Darcy is far from the most extreme scenario. So, in honor of Austenland, here are a dozen other movies about what it means to be a fan.
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I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)
OBSESSION: The Beatles
PLOT: Teenage girls try to make it to the Beatles’ first appearance
on The Ed Sullivan Show
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New Line Cinema
Detroit Rock City (1999)
OBSESSION: KISS
PLOT: Teenagers try to get into a KISS concert
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Twentieth Century Fox
Fever Pitch (2005)
OBSESSION: The Boston Red Sox
PLOT: A man’s devotion to his favorite baseball team threatens
his relationships with actual people
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Channel Four Films
Fever Pitch (1997)
OBSESSION: Arsenal
PLOT: A man’s devotion to his favorite soccer team threatens
his relationships with actual people
.
First Independent Pictures
Big Fan (2009)
OBSESSION: The New York Giants
PLOT: A fan gets in an altercation with his favorite football player
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Columbia Pictures
Misery (1990)
OBSESSION: Paul Sheldon, a fictional novelist
PLOT: A woman makes her devotion to a novelist’s characters clear to the author
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The Weinstein Company
Fanboys (2009)
OBSESSION: Star Wars
PLOT: A dying fan and his friends try to see an early screening of Episode I
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Orion Pictures Corporation
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
OBSESSION: Tom Baxter, a fictional-within-a-fiction archaeologist from a movie
PLOT: A woman who loves movies has a chance to meet her favorite character,
even though he isn’t real
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Gramercy Pictures
Nurse Betty (2000)
OBSESSION: Dr. David Ravell, a fictional character on a soap opera
PLOT: A woman is convinced that she was engaged to a character
from her favorite soap
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Columbia Pictures
Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
OBSESSION: Conrad Birdie, a fictional Elvis-type crooner
PLOT: The member of Conrad Birdie’s fan club wins a chance to kiss him before
he goes off to war, much to the distress of the men in her life
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DreamWorks
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004)
OBSESSION: Tad Hamilton, a fictional heartthrob
PLOT: A girl wins a chance to go on a date with a famous actor,
much to the distress of the men in her life
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DreamWorks
Galaxy Quest (1999)
OBSESSION: Galaxy Quest, a Star Trek-like show
PLOT: The cast of a cult-classic TV show is called upon to really save some aliens