Big Fan

Big Fan

Big Fan - Written and directed by Robert Siegel, starring Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, and Michael Rapaport - Rated R

Big Fan is the darkly funny movie that might be the most aptly titled film of the year. Patton Oswalt is great as Paul, the New York Giants' biggest fan. The film is dark because Paul's life seems so awful: he works at a toll booth, still loves with his mom at age 36, watches the games at the stadium, but in the parking lot through a rigged up TV, and he takes a late night radio sports show so serious that he writes notes to prepare for each call in he makes. But he is seems happy, so what of it? That's enough summary for you; just know that it isn't all that depressing and it's really just a good, simple story with some laughs along the way. I can't stress Oswalt's performance enough, though. He was meant to play this part, it suits him so well. Kevin Corrigan is also good as his equally crazed best friend. Oh, and if you think you take any type of sporting event too seriously, just watch this film and you'll probably feel better about yourself.

Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

Big Fan

Sometimes I feel like I'm pretty weird because I would prefer to listen to sports talk radio and contemplate the Oakland Raiders' back-up quarterback instead of turning on some sort of popular music station and listen to what all the kids are listening to.  Then I watch a movie like Big Fan and I don't feel so bad.

Patton Oswald plays a winner named Paul Aufiero, a New York Giants fan that is bat shit obsessed with Quantrell Bishop (Jonathn Hamm).  Paul, of course, is a shlub.  He lives with his mom, he has a crappy job, and he's a very unpleasant person with whom to interact.  One night, as the film subtly shifts from Kevin Smith to David Cronenberg, Paul follows  (stalks) Quantrell from Staten Island to Manhattan and catches a beating at the hands of his existential fixation.

Patton Oswald is an intelligent man.  He looks like a lesbian Tweedle Dee, yes, but his stand-up is sharp and witty and freaking funny.  Oswald plays Aufiero as dim-witted, cranky, automaton without a properly formatted motivation program.  He's fantastic and he's acting.   Patton Oswald can act.  Who'd've thunk it?  I think that when i make my next movie, I'm going to have Patton Oswald in it.

Big Fan's shots have a dreamy, bleached out glow, which keeps the tone fairly light-hearted despite the severe emotional problems of the main character.  As Paul's psychosis slips into deep depression, I found myself thinking that I know this territory: images of Travis Bickle or Barbara Jean from Nashville.  But writer/director Robert Siegel (who also penned The Wrestler) keeps Big Fan in the hokey yokeley universe that it creates.  Which is another way of saying that this is not a Wes Anderson film and things don't go from quirky to slash-your-wrists serious.  And I appreciate that.

Too often, movies try to be silly and melodramatic -- probably as a result of the Real World and Jon and Kate.  Luckily Big Fan is content to repress all of the serious psychological baggage that its players carry on their sleeves.  Very early in the film, it establishes a line between ideal actions and real actions.  In an ideal world, the Giants would be undefeated, Quantrell Bishop would have barbecues for his biggest fans once a year, and feuds between Sports Talk callers would be something that people cared about.  In the real world, life is hard, women only like men with their own places, and mom's always breathing down your neck.

The kookiest thing about Paul Aufiero: he's not a person that can't distinguish the real (that which exists in actuality) and the ideal (that which is fantasy).  In fact, his actions cause his ideal to interact with the real.  So, Paul is not a paranoid schizo or a man on the verge of a mental breakdown.  He's just ultra-focused.  And that's totally life-affirming.

notes I took during the film

Big Fan's shots have a dreamy, bleached out glow
there's a consistent buzz in the  ambient sound -- radios, mindless chatter

the land of the slack-jawed yokels

This movie makes me want to eat pizza

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Ruben of the Floating Red Couch<br />
http://www.floatingredcouch.com

Last updated: 2010-04-14 17:54:30 by user01

Big Fan

There are many types of sports fans. Some people pay sports a cursory glance and root for whichever team is popular at the time. Then there are some fans who go above and beyond to support their team. These fans can recite the stats of every player on their favorite team as if they were reciting Shakespeare. Paul Aufiero is the latter. As a die-hard New York Giants fan, Paul (Patton Oswalt) sees Monday through Saturday as merely a countdown until Sunday, when he can watch his beloved team. He goes to every single home game, even though he never has tickets. He is content with setting up a television in the parking lot to watch with his friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan). But Paul’s obsession has severely disrupted his social life. Stuck at a dead end job and living with his mother, Paul refuses to integrate himself into society. He ignores his family’s plea’s for him to grow up, and goes on watching his Giants. But when Paul is ruthlessly beaten by his favorite player at a night club, the pressure that has been building inside of him may finally push him over the edge.
Patton Oswalt is a shining star as the pathetic Paul Aufiero. The typically comedic actor known for being a sidekick shows his true acting ability in a performance that truly captures the real world of super-fandom. Powerful and saddening, Oswalt’s portrayal of this innocent minded man is shockingly realistic. As Paul calls his local sports radio show every night, he does not simply dial the phone, but he writes and rehearses every word that he is going to say, trying out different tones of voice and inflections to see which will sound the best. This is where Oswalt is at his peak. Playing off of Corrigan and Gino Cafarelli as his domineering brother, Oswalt makes a name for himself in the dramatic genre.
But all is not smooth sailing for Big Fan. Writer and director Robert Siegel definitely did his research while writing the part of Paul. He perfectly sculpted our lovable loser protagonist and wrote an original story for this character to travel through. However, Siegel’s commendable effort is somewhat undone by his ending. As the film winds down, Siegel creates immense tension that will leave your heart racing. He builds our hopes up for a shocking ending, only to leave us with a staggering disappointment that ends with the audience feeling cheated and altogether unsatisfied. This severe flaw in his writing keeps Big Fan out of “great movie” categorization.
Though the script may be flawed, Big Fan is worth seeing if you are a fan of sports or a fan of great acting. The film’s conclusion may work for some audiences, but chances are most will be turned off by it. Do not allow this to ruin your enjoyment of the scenes preceding it. Most importantly, this film could be a wake-up call to any sports nuts out there. You do not want to be like Paul. My rating (7/10)

Big Fan - ***

Starring:  Patton Oswalt, Michael Rappaport

Review:  This is a movie I was pretty excited for when I first heard about it.  Patton Oswalt as a crazy football fan in a movie about talk radio?  And it's a comedy?  Sounds awesome.  However, this movie was slightly different from what I expected.  From the previous reviews I had read I knew there were some serious undertones here but what I got was still not what I expected.

The movie centers around Patton Oswalt's character Paul and his love for the New York Football Giants.  Paul has a dead end job as a parking garage attendant that provides no future and not even enough money to live on his own, causing him to live with his mom.  However, the one thing the job does provide is time for him to write his monologue's that he spouts out on talk radio shows late into the night.  This is what Paul truly lives for and what makes him happiest in life.  This is the only thing Paul cares about and pretty much the only thing that brings him joy in life. 

Paul's life takes a turn for the worse when, upon meeting his favorite player from the Giants in person, he is beaten to within an inch of his life.  This is a very pivotal moment in Paul's life.  How is he to react to his favorite team and favorite player now?  Can he still love as he did before?  Paul cares so much for his team and his favorite player that is completely turned his world upside down when he was seemingly betrayed by a team and person he loved so much. 
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I will stop there as the movie leads you down one path only to take you down another, and I don't wish to ruin it for you all.  What I loved about this movie was Patton Oswalt.  I have always been a big fan (pun intended) but he really showed some acting chops in this movie.  When his world gets flipped on it's lid and he doesn't know where to turn, there are some really powerful scenes.  While not as crazy as Paul, as a HUGE sports fan, I can sympathize with Paul's plight.  His fandom is his chance to escape the mundanity of his every day life and be a part of something great.  This is what all fans are fans for.  When your team wins a championship and you have been a fan for years, it is pure validation for all the time and effort you put into being a fan.  The movie displays this perfectly, the tenacious pride and never ending optimism are the signs of a true fan. 

My only qualms with this movie were how small it felt sometimes and Paul's friend.  He idolized Paul like he was a 12 year old who thought his big bro was the coolest person ever.  While maybe this was supposed to be the point and add to the story, to me it just didn't fit and took away from the overall movie.

All in all, I would say it's worth your time.

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Big Fan

Writer and Director: Robert Siegel
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rappaport

This is a very distrubing, dark and hilarious comedy by the wonderful writer of "The Wrestler" which was my number one movie of 2008. This movie was so scary to me because I know Cubs fans who are like the main character. Patton Oswalt is wonderful as a fanatic New York Giants fan who follows his favorite football player who winds up beating him up. This movie brilliantly captures the crazy fandom and how they call radio sports stations and rant and rave. This movie is like Martin Scorcese tried to go back to his independent roots. This is very funny, dark and scary with a perfect ending.

Vincent Snavely