The Fanatic (2019) Review

"I am not a stalker!  I am a fan, Leah!"
-Moose



Moose (John Travolta), a Hollywood Blvd. street performer, has an unhealthy obsession with movie star, Hunter Dunbar (Devon Sawa).  After an encounter between them at an autography signing goes sour, Moose becomes more determined than even to win his favorite actor back over and breaks into Hunter's house.


What Works:

John Travolta really commits himself to the role of Moose.  He nails the performance and there were times I forgot I was watching Travolta.  I was nervous about him portraying this character, but he throws himself into the performance.

I also like Devon Sawa.  It's good to see him still getting work.  He's an interesting character and the antagonist of the film, but he's wholly justified in his actions.  It's unusual to watch a film where you root for the antagonist, but this is one of them.

The movie also sporadically uses animations to show us the current state of Moose.  The drawings are cool and a nice artistic addition to the film.

Finally, I enjoyed the vast majority of the story.  I used to work in security at a major Hollywood studio and I had to deal with obsessed fans more than once and they drive me up the wall.  Actors are just people and I do feel bad for them having to deal with crazy people like Moose.  They try and show Moose in a somewhat sympathetic light, due to his mental condition, and I can see people rooting for him over Hunter, but I enjoyed the majority of the story because I was rooting for Hunter.


What Sucks:

The biggest problem was the movie's ending.  Spoilers ahead.


The movie ends with Hunter getting arrested for, I guess, murdering his maid, even though Moose did that.  What!?  There is literally no evidence to suggest that Hunter did this.  It was never set up.  It doesn't make any sense.  Moose gets away with breaking into Hunter's house and Hunter gets arrested.  This is a trash ending and utter bullcrap.  Hunter has no business going to jail!  How did the filmmakers want us to feel with this ending?!  They didn't succeed if they wanted us to feel satisfied.

Finally, the 3rd act where Moose finally breaks into Hunter's house is a little too short.  This is the big climatic moment, you can savor it.  We get some good moments, but it really needed to give us more.  It's what we've all been waiting for.


Verdict:

I enjoyed The Fanatic for most of the film because I was really rooting for Hunter and Travolta has a good performance, but the ending just left a terrible taste in my mouth.  It's not a bad movie, but because the ending is such a disaster, I can't recommend it.

 5/10: Meh 

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