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Movies / On DVD / Gigantic
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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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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First-time feature director Matt Aselton, who co-wrote the darkly funny, well-observed script with Adam Nagata, has crafted a disarming tale that's one of the better independent films in recent memory.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment 1 Comment
04/16/09
Gary Goldstein
Gary Goldstein
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This quirky and engaging comedy sports smart dialogue, a surreal premise and a stellar cast.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment 1 Comment
04/13/09
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Hollywood.com

Anyone can go off and just cynically make a bad movie, but to make a picture as inert, incompetent and emotionally fraudulent as Gigantic takes sincere faith that one is, in fact, making something really, really good.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment 1 Comment
04/10/09
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

Eventually Gigantic decides to become a heartwarmer, and why not? Any ending -- including nuclear devastation or a 1940s musical number -- would have worked, too.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment 1 Comment
04/10/09
Rafer Guzman
Rafer Guzman
Newsday

On the basis of Gigantic, Matt Aselton can make a fine and original film. This isn't quite it, but it has moments so good, all you wish for is a second draft.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
04/09/09
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There was just something about this movie that drew me in. Part of it is the borderline surreal method with which the film tells its story.

Full Review Source: Film School Rejects | comment 1 Comment
04/06/09
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
Film School Rejects

The script is sharp, well written, and with some strong performances, especially John Goodman.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment 1 Comment
04/06/09
Ben Lyons
Ben Lyons
At the Movies

I felt like I was being hit over the head with a quirky club.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment 1 Comment
04/06/09
Ben Mankiewicz
Ben Mankiewicz
At the Movies

It's hard to imagine why anyone would build a whole film around Paul Dano -- or that anyone will again after seeing this movie.

Full Review Source: Hollywood & Fine | comment 1 Comment
04/06/09
Marshall Fine
Marshall Fine
Hollywood & Fine

Has a few moments of offbeat humor and boasts a charming, tender performance, as usual, by Zooey Deschanel, but it often falls flat as a convoluted comedy, drama, mystery and romance. It has too many poorly developed storylines that simmer together for 98

Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | comment 1 Comment
04/05/09
Avi Offer
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru

The protagonist might be so laid-back that he practically disappears, but the picture itself tries much too hard--and stumbles.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment 1 Comment
04/04/09
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

With curdled humor and cardboard characters, this ghastly movie completely misses the mark.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment 1 Comment
04/03/09
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Boxoffice Magazine

Quirk fans, prepare to be lightly exhilarated.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment 1 Comment
04/03/09
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

Seriously? Indie directors are still making painfully twee, self-conscious romances all these years after Sundance birthed so many quirky cliches?

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment 1 Comment
04/03/09
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

There's nothing inside, nothing to connect the film with the emotions of living people.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 2 Comments
04/03/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

With its off-center dialogue and upscale industrial settings, Gigantic strains to be original. But beneath its indie affectations it is really another contemplation of generational misunderstanding.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment 1 Comment
04/03/09
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A note to all indie filmmakers (one that will be too late for Matt Aselton, writer (with Adam Nagata) and director of GIGANTIC): quirky is a tone, not a plot.

Full Review Source: CHUD | comment 1 Comment
04/02/09
Devin Faraci
Devin Faraci
CHUD

An oddball romantic comedy about the relationship between a nurturing male and a ditzy young woman who doesn't have a clue as to what she really wants.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment 1 Comment
04/02/09
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

sinks under the weight of its peculiarities, making a possibly big story feel like no big deal.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment 1 Comment
04/02/09
Norm Schrager
Norm Schrager
Filmcritic.com

Any resemblance the film bears to real people and real situations is purely coincidental.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment 1 Comment
04/02/09
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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