An odd mixture of "Marty" and "The Cabdriver", best when it focuses on the Marty side of the equation.
Big Fan (2009)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:66
Rotten:10
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Featuring Patton Oswalt's sympathetic portrayal, Big Fan humorously and effectively captures the dark and lonely world of a sports fanatic.
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis:
Paul Aufiero, a 35-year-old parking-garage attendant from Staten Island, is the self-described "world's biggest New York Giants fan". He lives at home with his mother, spending his off hours...
Paul Aufiero, a 35-year-old parking-garage attendant from Staten Island, is the self-described "world's biggest New York Giants fan". He lives at home with his mother, spending his off hours calling in to local sports-radio station 760 The Zone, where he rants in support of his beloved team, often against his mysterious on-air rival, Eagles fan Philadelphia Phil. His family berates him for doing nothing with his life, but they don't understand the depth of his love of the Giants or the responsibility his fandom carries.
One night, Paul and his best friend Sal spot Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop at a gas station in their neighborhood. They impulsively follow his limo into Manhattan, to a strip club, where they hang in the background, agog at their hero. Paul cautiously decides to approach him, stepping into the rarefied air of football stardom--and things do not go as planned.
The fallout of this chance encounter brings Paul's world crashing down around him as his family, the team, the media and the authorities engage in a tug of war over Paul, testing his allegiances and calling into question everything he believes in. Meanwhile, the Giants march toward a late-season showdown with the Eagles, unaware that sometimes the most brutal struggles take place far from the field of play.
Following up his first filmed screenplay, THE WRESTLER, writer-director Robert Siegel once again demonstrates a unique and potent vision of the human experience, in all of it its harsh truths and hopeful humanity. --© First Independent Films
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rapaport, Marcia Jean Kurtz
Starring: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rapaport, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Matt Servitto, Serafina Fiore, Gino Cafarelli, Jonathan Hamm, Polly Humphreys, Scott Ferrall
Director: Robert Siegel
Director: Robert Siegel
Screenwriter: Robert Siegel
Producer: Jean Kouremetis, Elan Bogarin
Composer: Philip Watts
Studio: First Independent Pictures
Reviews for Big Fan
Big Fan is wonderfully written, cliche-free and fully capable of surprising you.
Paul is a sad figure, but the edge is taken off this by his single-minded (some would say dim-witted) devotion to the Giants.
First-time director Siegel shows promise. His script is solid, and although the last act feels somewhat awkward, the idea is clever.
...the movie boasts a rough visual sensibility that's mirrored in both the performances and the meandering narrative...
We're stuck on the ledge, waiting to see if Paul will jump. Painful, but good.
Writer-director Robert D. Siegel grew up listening to callers like Paul on The FAN, New York City's all-sports radio, and he gives us a bizarrely sympathetic portrait of a guy who is as devout and as obsessive as any religious fanatic.
What makes Paul fascinating isn't how pathetic he is. It's how dignified he thinks he is, and how that knit blue cap with "NY" on the front gives his life meaning.
Screenwriter Siegel, directing his first film, lavishes as much attention on forty-year-old virgin Paul as he did on "Randy the Ram" in The Wrestler.
It's a classic situation, transplanted to a small, petty arena. When I think of this movie, I think of Oswalt, how his anguish feels real (whether we understand it or not) and how his face unaccountably becomes an offbeat locus of dignity.
...Siegel seems more interested in exhibiting Paul as a not-so-rare species of delusional male thwartedness than granting him an interior life, but it's still a powerful and interesting bit of sociology.
A Strong, Tightly-Wound Character Study That Suffers Minimally From Its 1st-Time Director.
Cliched New York type of creepy/funny film that might only appeal to the male sports fan.
Though not without its problems, it is not a film that's easy to forget about, nor do its questions all answer themselves at once.
Big Fan stretches credulity in spots, but for the most part, it manages to keep its eye on the ball.
Though the movie isn’t much to look at, he gets a credibly dark and pathetic performance from the typically comic Oswalt.
Siegel takes us to the brink of operatic melodrama, then lands us in a tragicomic spot: a psychological landscape of alternate life and make-believe death.
Wrings pain out of heartbreaking truths, and steamrolls to an unpredictable conclusion that's suspenseful, mildly coincidental, but gut-wrenchingly sad.
Engaging truth: You may need your favorite team more than it needs you.
Latest News for Big Fan
December 01, 2009:
The Hurt Locker Wins Big at Gotham Awards ![]()
"The Hurt Locker" was the big winner at the Gotham Independent Film Awards on Monday, taking home awards for best feature and ensemble cast. "Food, Inc." won the documentary... More...
August 27, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Guess Halloween 2's Tomatometer!
This week at the movies, we've got the return of Michael Myers (Halloween 2, starring Malcolm McDowell and Scout Taylor-Compton), three dimensional fatalities (The Final... More...
July 12, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
More...
July 07, 2009:
Trailer Bulletin: Big Fan ![]()
Patton Oswalt has a new movie coming out, and, well...it's nothing like "Ratatouille." Watch the trailer for "Big Fan" now! More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.





