30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 30- The Fanatic (2019)

30 days ago, we embarked on a journey of exploration as I did a new and better version of the 30 day movie challenge which forced you to watch films you hadn't seen yet. We watched a horror film, a foreign film, an Oscar nominee, a Saturn award winner, and today we go to the other side of the spectrum that celebrates the worst in cinema rather than the best and that is the Razzies. The task for today was to either watch the Razzie winner for Worst Picture or a nominee and I chose a nominee in 2019's The Fanatic which was written and directed by Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit). The film stars John Travolta (Saturday Night Fever) as Moose, a mentally disturbed who just wants to meet his favorite action star in the whole world. When the chance meeting blows up in his face, Moose becomes obsessed with the actor and begins to stalk the actor which takes a nasty turn. The film also stars Devon Sawa (Final Destination) as Hunter Dunbar, Ana Golja (Degrassi: Next Class) as Leah, Jacob Grodnik (Disturbing The Peace) as Todd, James Paxton (An American In Texas) as Slim, Marta González Rodin (Until The End Of Time) as Dora, Theresa Ireland (How To Be A Latin Lover) as Marilyn Monroe, Luis Da Silva Jr. (Fast Five) as Luis, and Josh Richman (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) as Aaron.

Now was this the worst film I have ever seen? I definitely would not say that, but it also wasn't very good at all. I am kind of saddened at the fact that they made John Travolta's character have disabilities and I am not saying that someone who has autism couldn't do what his character did, but I think an actor would be a lot more understanding of someone with disabilities. I know that Devon Sawa's character should be the victim in this film and in so many ways he actually is, but he is kind of a shitty person if you think about it. I have been to plenty of conventions and I have seen actors handle someone like Moose with class that brings high praise to the said actor. He mishandled a situation with someone who had mental disabilities and it backfired on him. Again, that does not excuse what Moose did at all because what he did was borderline creepy from licking his toothbrush to tying him up in bed and so much more. The film is commentary on mental health issues and the delicate situations that performers are put in, but it could have been done a lot better. When I envision a stalker, I don't envision Moose by a long shot but someone who is more in control of their surroundings while also being mentally unstable. I have to be honest in saying that I find that Travolta can only play so many types of characters and that he was lucky he had dance moves and good looks back in the day because he is not very good. As I said, the movie isn't completely terrible, but it doesn't get a better grade than a C-.