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.
Gigantic (2008)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Gigantic
A likable cast brings some charm and humour to Gigantic but it remains an overly mannered, self-conscious effort.
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.
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.
This determinedly nonsensical American indie feels like it was assembled in an off-world quirk factory.
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.
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.
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.
This film is entirely empty: empty of substance, devoid of plausible characters, and without anything like a satisfying style.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gigantic tries so hard to be cute and quirky it forgets it should also try to be interesting.
‘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.
It’s slyly misogynistic, dramatically inert, and wastes an intriguing boorish cameo from John Goodman.
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