If I’ve learned nothing else from Entertainment Weekly – and how could that possibly be the case? – it’s this: when something burbles to the surface of our pop culture three times within a relatively short period of time, it constitutes a trend. That being the case, I have spotted a trend and named it…Rush. OK, I didn’t actually name it Rush. It already had that name. But I’ve definitely noticed a pronounced uptick in Rush content in our youth culture comedies of late, and I’m not talking Limbaugh. I mean that Canadian power trio straight out of 2112. Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart. Rush.

First came Fanboys. Although most of the movie’s geek-centric humor revolves around the Lucasverse, the character of Hutch (Dan Fogler) makes it clear that only one band’s music will be heard in his van as he drives the rest of his motley crew of Star Wars fanatics to Skywalker Ranch, and that band is Rush. In I Love You, Man, Paul Rudd and Jason Segel bond over their mutual love of the band, jamming in the Segel character’s man-cave to “Limelight” and even attending a Rush concert together (which proves to be the pivotal moment when Rashida Jones realizes something has gone dreadfully awry). The band’s air guitar appeal is explored both here and in Adventureland, wherein a minor character attempts to woo amusement park babe Lisa P with his own shredding air guitar rendition of, again, “Limelight.”

So what does it all mean? It’s interesting to note that, although all three of the above movies use the band in a similar way – that is, as a signifier of social awkwardness in a particular brand of white American male – each movie takes place in a different decade. Adventureland is set in 1987, Fanboys takes place in 1998, a year before the release of The Phantom Menace, and I Love You, Man unfolds in the present day. Clearly there’s a universality to the Rush experience, something empowering about their sci-fi-tinged progressive-objectivist rock that speaks to the repressed geek in any era of their existence. Or maybe these particular filmmakers just happen to think they rawk. (Full disclosure: I have never owned a Rush album, although I did attend a Rush concert under duress in my college years. I do have the I Love You, Man soundtrack, however, and I have no problem with “Limelight.”)

For his part, bandleader Geddy Lee is eager to exploit his band’s newfound movie stardom. “We’re all available,” Lee tells – who else? – Entertainment Weekly. “We’re putting ourselves out there. We all want to be character actors now. We’re ready to be in any movie anybody wants to put us into. I’d love to be in a Coen brothers film. I would love to have a bit part in The Yiddish Policeman’s Union. I love the book, and I am perfect for that movie.”

Related:
Screengrab Review: Adventureland
Fantastic Fest Review: Fanboys