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Gigantic

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Gigantic (2008)

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Reviews Counted:72

Fresh:27

Rotten:45

Average Rating:4.7/10

Consensus: This overly quirky, incessantly whimsical indie is too self-conscious for its own good.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for language, some sexual content and violence.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:19-06-2009

Synopsis: GIGANTIC’s Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) isn’t your average 28-year-old man. He sleepily works as a mattress salesman while he tries to fulfill his lifelong dream of adopting a Chinese baby. But... GIGANTIC’s Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) isn’t your average 28-year-old man. He sleepily works as a mattress salesman while he tries to fulfill his lifelong dream of adopting a Chinese baby. But Brian’s somnambulist state is interrupted by the arrival of Harriet Lolly (Zooey Deschanel), who prefers going by the name "Happy." She stops by the mattress store after her rich, bullying father (John Goodman) buys the most expensive bed on the salesroom floor, and she immediately draws Brian into her world. A romance with Happy beckons, but Brian is close to achieving his goal. Now if he could only avoid the violent attacks of the crazy homeless man who is stalking him.... Like many small black comedies, GIGANTIC is driven by its characters, an indie-rock soundtrack, and some seemingly random elements that set it apart from its studio counterparts. But GIGANTIC’s tiny status doesn’t mean that it is lacking in the casting department. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and THERE WILL BE BLOOD have demonstrated Dano’s range, and he plays a fully formed character here. Deschanel (YES MAN) again plays a vibrant, quirky love interest that will be familiar to viewers of indie films like GARDEN STATE and her own work in WEEDS and FLAKES. But the prize should really go to Goodman, who adds authenticity to his character’s strangeness, remaining likable even as he threatens the lives of Brian’s parents. [More]

Starring: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Ed Asner

Starring: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Ed Asner, Jane Alexander, Zach Galifianakis

Director: Matt Aselton

Director: Matt Aselton
Screenwriter: Adam Nagata, Matt Aselton
Producer: Mindy Goldberg, Christine Vachon
Studio: First Independent Pictures

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Reviews for Gigantic

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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The kind of mumbling, lank-haired, achingly self-conscious indie rom-com that gives mumbling, lank-haired, achingly self-conscious indie rom-coms a bad name.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Ali Catterall
Ali Catterall
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A likable cast brings some charm and humour to Gigantic but it remains an overly mannered, self-conscious effort.

Full Review Source: Daily Express | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Allan Hunter
Allan Hunter
Daily Express

By the end, I was thoroughly alienated by the movie's twee, self-satisfied empty-headedness and rooting for the homeless man to do his worst.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

An indie comedy that's been kooked to a crisp. Wearing its quirkiness on its sleeve, the whole thing's just too self-consciously strange to engage.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

This determinedly nonsensical American indie feels like it was assembled in an off-world quirk factory.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's very hard not to get sucked in to the charm of this movie. Dano and Deschanel play their parts to perfection, exuding just the right amount of awkwardness and insecurity to bring the story to life.

Full Review Source: Digital Spy | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Lara Martin
Lara Martin
Digital Spy

Not quite this year’s hip little indie romantic comedy that could, as it clearly aspires to be, but smart-ish and drily funny while overly littered with twitches and tweaks.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film obviously got a grant from Cool Aid, the endowment fund targeted at US filmmakers with nothing to say but a million airheaded ways to say it.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

This film is entirely empty: empty of substance, devoid of plausible characters, and without anything like a satisfying style.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's kooky, it's quirky, it's dippy, it's trippy, it's loopy, it's screwy – it's indie, and boy, it's annoying.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Here the characters drive everything – they’re quirky without being annoying, funny without being clownish and odd but realistic. As funny and interesting as it is, however, the film raises more question than it answers.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Limara Salt
Limara Salt
Little White Lies

This is some of the worst writing of the year, from the meaningless title down. Oh yeah, and a tramp keeps showing up to beat up Dano throughout. Not quite sure why, but I applaud the effort.

Full Review Source: News of the World | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Robbie Collin
Robbie Collin
News of the World

Precious and pretentious, and oddly absorbing because of it.

Full Review Source: Scotsman | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Alistair Harkness
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman

This gentle romance is so wilfully quirky that it will drive some audiences a bit crazy. But if you can connect to the film's warmth and the humanity of its characters, it really gets under the skin.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Everything that happens slots neatly into the art house template - wacky leads, wackier supporting players, coy alt-rock soundtrack - but director Matt Aselton doesn't know when to stop.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

Don't hope for anything profound among the smug coolness.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Sun Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Quirky is certainly the word for this offbeat comedy.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mail [UK] | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Sunday Mail [UK]
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Gigantic tries so hard to be cute and quirky it forgets it should also try to be interesting.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mirror [UK] | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Mark Adams
Mark Adams
Sunday Mirror [UK]

‘Gigantic’ is a film that succeeds by wearing the viewer down, as an infuriatingly coy, self-conscious first act gives way to a sweet and affecting climax.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Tom Huddlestone
Tom Huddlestone
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’s slyly misogynistic, dramatically inert, and wastes an intriguing boorish cameo from John Goodman.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment 1 Comment
06/19/09
Kevin Maher
Kevin Maher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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