Big Fan

Movie Grade: A-

DVD Features Grade: B+

Overall Grade: A-

“From the Writer of The Wrestler,” is something worth buying a movie over. Despite its snubbing by the Academy at least year’s Oscars, The Wrestler was undoubtedly one of the best movies 2008. Writer Robert D. Seigel has stepped up to the depressing movie plate with his work writing Big Fan. With the unconventional star of Patton Oswalt, Big Fan is a story nothing short of depressing that fits the motif of Seigel‘s work in The Wrestler, this time with a slight sense of extremely dark humor tossed into an equally sad story.

Paul Aufiero, played by Oswalt, is a hardcore Giants fan if there ever was one. Working in a parking garage doesn’t pay him enough to get tickets to the game – or even his own place to live – but that doesn’t stop Paul. He and his friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan) still show up at every Giants game to sit in the parking lot to be close to their team and favorite team. Despite the pleads of his mother, Paul doesn’t have an issue with living with her and working at small time jobs, because he doesn’t care about much besides his Giants. This causes an extreme conflict in Paul’s life when he runs into one of his favorite players.

When Paul and Sal see Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) as he drives through Staten Island by, they decide to follow him for a chance to finally talk to an actual Giants player. After a night of tailing Quantrell’s car, the two catch him at a strip club in Manhattan. After approaching him, the two awkwardly tell him they are big fans, but unintentionally let him know that they have been following him. The tension rises as Quantrell becomes outraged and beats Paul brutally. When Paul wakes up in the hospital he is faced with the crushing pressure of his family to press charges and pursue legal action against the man who is a star player of his favorite team.

If there is one way to describe the movie it is anti-Hollywood. The movie is far from conventional and might seem extremely mundane and boring to someone interested in a mainstream style film. There is minimal music, strange camera angles, a sense of repetition in conversations, and little plot escalation. Though this might go over the heads of some viewers, this proves to be an excellent method of building the suspense of the film. This culminates in the end when Paul takes a gun to a bar in Philadelphia to take down an avid Eagles fan, and a rival of his. Though the outcome might come off as anti-climactic to some, it is a bizarre turn that shows his extreme dedication to the Giants and his lack of concern for the rest of the world around him.

The exclusive

outtakes feature is a strange touch to add to this DVD given the nature of the film. IT is ultimately a blooper reel, which is always a funny touch, but doesn’t work well with movies this serious. There are other more fitting features, like a Q&A, as well as an interview with Kevin Corrigan about a similar real life situation. The final feature is a downloadable poster of Quandrell, which I didn’t download, but find fairly humorous being that he isn’t a real player.

Even though this might go over-looked by conventional movie goers, anyone film buff who is tired of watching movies out of the Hollywood cookie-cutter will appreciate this dramatic change of pace. Even with a stand-up comedian like Patten Oswalt staring, this movie manages to be incredibly depressing and sometimes funny in the grimmest of senses. Big Fan might not be as emasculate as The Wrestler, but it will definitely please any of its fans.

Movie Grade: A-

DVD Features Grade: B+

Overall Grade: A-