Every once in a while (a long while), it is fairly rewarding to be a geek. Lately, such happenstance has been occurring with greater frequency. Is the rest of humanity finally putting on their horn-rimmed glasses, stuffing their pens into their pocket-protectors and embracing their inner geek? Maybe. Or maybe this insertion of nerdiness into society has resulted from Hollywood realizing they make the most money from fans of science fiction and fantasy. Debatably, this started right around the time "The Lord of the Rings" saw release and even struck gold at both the box office and the Academy Awards, taking home a statue for best picture. This paradigm climaxed, again debatably, with the success of the "Dark Knight." For the first time in a long time, a genre cultural event resonated with so many people that ordinary folks-non-geeks-went running to their local bookstore to pick up a copy of Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" or Jeph Loeb's "The Long Halloween," the latter being the graphic novel upon which Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" was based. So, it would seem, it's good to be a geek.

Another example of this, perhaps to a much lesser extent, is the release of the movie that none of you probably saw or will ever see: "Fanboys." The film, directed by Kyle Newman, became something of a cultural myth in and of itself. Originally planned for an August, 2007 release, the film was pushed back to "sometime in 2008" due to insufficient funds. Reaction from test audiences caused the need for a re-shoot of some key scenes, delaying the film even more to April of 2008. Subsequently, it was announced that the film would see release in September, 2008 and then was pushed back again to November, 2008. Finally, the studio set a concrete release date of Feb. 6, 2009. Even before the release, the odds were heavily against the movie. However, as Han Solo would say, "never tell me the odds!"

The movie, which only garnered a limited release-it's only playing in New York City and Los Angeles-and had the budget of a film school project, centers around four friends in 1998 that plan to break into George Lucas' mythical Skywalker Ranch and steal a rough cut of what was perhaps the most anticipated movie in recent memory, "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace."

Not only is this a great premise to geek out-over, the movie has so many subtle moments that will make indoctrinated fans giddy. An example: the foursome find themselves in a hospital with a doctor played by Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia). When they are allowed to leave the hospital, one of the characters hugs Carrie Fisher and says, "I love you." In response, Carrie Fisher says "I know" reenacting that famous scene in "The Empire Strikes Back" where Leia finally declares her love for Han Solo right before he is frozen in carbonite. Classic.

The movie has various other references like that dispersed throughout. While the plot is pretty standard for a road trip movie, it is these references that lift the film above other movies like it. For instance, the gang makes a pit stop in Riverside, Iowa. Many won't get the reference right away, but if you know your Science Fiction, then you know that Riverside is the hometown of James Kirk, captain of the Enterprise on the original "Star Trek" series. There has long been a battle of words over which is superior between "Star Wars" and "Star Trek." It is both hilarious and gratifying to see this battle come alive on the big screen. When all is said and done, the movie truly celebrates being a complete and utter geek.If you are a geek, nerd or love "Star Wars" or science fiction in any way, shape or form, then go see this movie. If that isn't enough, the end of the movie features Kristen Bell in the gold bikini.