O2D I never knew this movie existed until Howard Stern mentioned it on his show last week. I'm glad he did because this was a good movie. Patton Oswalt is once again type-cast as the geeky guy who lives with his mom except this time he's a huge football fan. Michael Rappaport basically just plays himself, a mean spirited jerk, and Kevin Corrigan is once again type-cast as the barely noticeable, somewhat supportive best friend. Despite the three main actors not stretching at all for this movie, it still works somehow. Though I must say that Satan from Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell was disappointing as the police detective. This is definitely a movie you should see.

dunmore_ego I'm no fan of Patton Oswalt as a comedian. But what a remarkable dramatic actor! Oswalt plays Paul Aufiero, the eponymous BIG FAN of the New York Giants, whose favorite player, Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) nearly fatally bashes Paul one night for seemingly stalking him.(If someone really hates you, that is presumably "reason" enough they might do you harm; ironically, if someone really really really loves you, that is ALSO reason enough.) Rather than bring a lawsuit against Bishop, which would mean Bishop's suspension and therefore the crippling of Paul's favorite team, Paul drops all charges and pretends amnesia to a nosy detective.Written and directed by the writer of THE WRESTLER (Robert D. Siegel), BIG FAN is a hard closeup of the pathology and pathos of being so deep into a fantasy that the real world cannot compete let alone offer any solace.Like director Darren Aronofsky simply followed The Wrestler through his mundane workday, Siegel reveals Paul's tics and quirks simply by training his camera on him: Paul sits in his toll booth composing screeds to deliver on sports radio call-in shows; when he does call in, his delivery actually sounds scripted (testament to Oswalt's talent), yet his best friend listening in, Sal (Kevin Corrigan) believes him to be a prophet; Paul and Sal regularly catch Giants games - from a portable TV in the Giants Stadium car park, cheering as wildly as if they're in the bleachers; Paul lives with his nagging mother (Marcia Jean Kurtz), holed up in a small bedroom which offers no privacy. The tragicomedy is cringeworthy.Gino Cafarelli plays Paul's lawyer brother, who complicates matters when he brings charges against Bishop without Paul's consent; Serafina Fiore brings her outsize breasts to the role of Paul's sister-in-law (I still cannot understand why women with outsized fakes believe anyone would take their "acting" seriously when faced with their elective surgery orbs of distraction); Matt Servito ("the lovely Agent Harris" from THE SOPRANOS) is the nosy detective who cannot understand why Paul is protecting Bishop.Tension and black humor drives the last act, with some twists that nicely augment Paul's dementia, as he seeks revenge not on Bishop, but on a rival team's fan (Michael Rappaport). And Patton Oswalt delivers with a surprising conviction that makes me wonder why he chose comedy as his career when drama is so clearly his forte.Where Patton Oswalt Actor is concerned - I'm a BIG FAN... Now where's my gun?...

hall895 As an obsessive-compulsive New York Giants fan myself this one hits rather close to home. I can see a lot of myself in Paul Aufiero, the main character in this film. And that's somewhat scary because Paul Aufiero is unquestionably a complete and total loser. And probably at least a little bit deranged. OK, in all truth probably more than a little bit deranged. But you can relate to the guy, identify with him. Well I can at least. Your mileage may vary.Paul Aufiero is in his mid-30s, works a dead-end job as a parking-lot attendant, lives with his mother and has no apparent goals or ambition in life. He lives for his football team. If the Giants win, he's happy. As "Paul from Staten Island" he calls sports-talk radio shows in the middle of the night, with his mother shushing him from the other room. He carefully scripts his phone calls down to the smallest detail, writing the whole thing down on legal pads while he works. It's all rather pathetic. But Paul of course doesn't see it that way. As Paul from Staten Island he's important, he has a voice. He sees his painstakingly thought-out radio speeches as being in fact quite brilliant. He has the unique, so he thinks, ability to explain to the world why the Giants are like totally freaking awesome and why the hated Eagles and his radio call-in rival Philadelphia Phil are total losers. So maybe his life's going nowhere but the Giants are winning, everything is good in Paul Aufiero's little world. And then it all goes horribly wrong.While Big Fan is by no means a spectacular film it definitely works, thanks almost entirely to the performance of Patton Oswalt who plays Paul. There are supporting players sprinkled throughout but it's largely left to Oswalt to carry the film on his own and he succeeds. The film takes us inside the head of this strange little man. And being inside that head is a scary place to be. It's a great performance. In spite of the character's obvious failings you can't help but root for Paul. Unless maybe you're an Eagles fan but we all know Eagles fans aren't quite human so they don't really count. As Paul's obsession takes him into dark, dangerous territory there's a sense that we may see this guy just totally lose it. Whatever little grasp of "it" he had to begin with anyway. But the story has some final surprises in store for us and things wrap up happily enough. Happy for us anyway. Happy for Paul? How do the Giants look this season? That's all that matters. That's all that ever matters. I can relate.

Michael O'Keefe Exceptional. A bit pathetic, but a very good sports related drama. Paul Aufiero(Patton Oswalt)is more than just a big fan of the New York Giants; he is sometimes an irrational fan out of control. Paul still lives at home with his mom and has a dead end job...he seems to have minimal ambition. This big fan never misses a Giant's game; he's usually watching the game on TV... in the parking lot. Paul spends most of his day composing his rant for the call-in radio sports show; and he wastes no time hating Philadelphia Phil(Michael Rapaport). These two super fans taunt each other the air waves...until Paul loses control and puts on his 'war paint' and goes out to prove his allegiance and undying devotion for his team.This probably isn't meant to be funny; in a sympathetic way it is. Other players: Kevin Corrigan, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Matt Servito and Gino Cafereli.