The Fandom Menace: 12 Movies About Obssessive Fans

'Austenland' joins a long list of films about people with extreme levels of pop-culture devotion

  • Share
  • Read Later

[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.

(MOREHappy 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.

.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Universal / Getty Images

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

.

Detroit Rock City

New Line Cinema

Detroit Rock City (1999)

OBSESSION: KISS

PLOT: Teenagers try to get into a KISS concert

.

Fever Pitch Poster

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

.

Fever Pitch Poster (UK)

Channel Four Films

Fever Pitch (1997)

OBSESSION: Arsenal

PLOT: A man’s devotion to his favorite soccer team threatens
his relationships with actual people

.

Big Fan Poster

First Independent Pictures

Big Fan (2009)

OBSESSION: The New York Giants

PLOT: A fan gets in an altercation with his favorite football player

.

Misery

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

.

Fanboys Poster

The Weinstein Company

Fanboys (2009)

OBSESSION: Star Wars

PLOT: A dying fan and his friends try to see an early screening of Episode I

.

The Purple Rose of Cairo

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

.

Nurse Betty

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

.

Bye Bye Birdie

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

.

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

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

.

Galaxy Quest

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