'Big Fan': The Defeat Of A Football Fantasy
An examination of a crisis in the life of the most die-hard of football fans, Big Fan is a poignant, dead-on character study. Its situations can be outrageous, its dialogue often scabrous, but its sense of the core reality it describes is impeccable.
Big Fan neither denigrates nor idealizes its protagonist, New York Giants fan Paul Aufiero, played (very seriously) by the comedian and actor Patton Oswalt. It may not even particularly like Paul. But it does respect the ferocity of those convictions, and the courage of his obsessions no matter what.
It's not surprising that Robert D. Siegel is the writer behind Big Fan. He's also the writer of The Wrestler, and both films share a feeling for society's underside, for the people who live on the fringes of professional sports. With this film, fortunately, Siegel does the directing himself, and his understanding of the value of subtlety and the power of understatement pays considerable dividends.
As he did for Mickey Rourke with Randy "The Ram" Robinson, Siegel has written a killer role for leading man Oswalt, best known for TV's The King of Queens and his turn as the voice of Remy the Rat in Pixar's animated Ratatouille. Oswalt may be unlikely to get an Oscar nomination, but he certainly deserves one.
A 36-year-old Staten Islander who watches his team on TV in the stadium parking lot, Paul Aufiero is introduced at his day job, manning the booth at a parking garage. What he really lives for, however, are his New York Giants in general, and being a call-in voice on The Zone, a late-night sports-talk radio show, in particular.
Though he loves all the Giants, Paul's hero is marauding linebacker and five-time All-Pro Quantrell Bishop (newcomer Jonathan Hamm). So imagine his state of mind when he catches a glimpse of Bishop at a Staten Island gas station and decides on impulse to follow him no matter where it leads. It leads to trouble.
It is the achievement of Big Fan to let us see Paul not necessarily as a loser, but as someone who has found something he loves, something that sustains him. Like a hipster with a contempt for the square world, Paul feels superior to his bourgeois relatives; he feels like he has a calling, a vocation that puts him on a higher level. When he says of his conventional siblings, "I don't want what they've got," he's telling the biggest truth he knows.
Seeing this film brought back a personal memory to me, a recollection of being a young sportswriter at a Washington Redskins home opener — the first for new coach George Allen — sitting in the press box next to the great essayist Heywood Hale Broun and being astounded as 50,000 fans screamed like they'd never screamed before. I gave Broun a questioning look, and he just shrugged.
"To the eternal question, 'Who am I,' " he said elegantly above the din, " 'I am a Redskins fan' provides a convenient answer." It always has — and, if Big Fan is any indication, it likely always will.
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An examination of a crisis in the life of the most die-hard of football fans, Big Fan is a poignant, dead-on character study. Its situations can be outrageous, its dialogue often scabrous, but its sense of the core reality it describes is impeccable.
Big Fan neither denigrates nor idealizes its protagonist, New York Giants fan Paul Aufiero, played (very seriously) by the comic and actor Patton Oswalt. It may not even particularly like Paul. But it does respect the ferocity of those convictions, respects the courage of his obsessions no matter what.
It's not surprising that Robert Siegel is the writer behind Big Fan. He's also the writer of The Wrestler, and both films share a feeling for society's underside, for the people who live on the fringes of professional sports. With this film, fortunately, Siegel does the directing himself, and his understanding of the value of subtlety and the power of understatement pays considerable dividends.
As he did for Mickey Rourke with Randy "The Ram" Robinson, Siegel has written a killer role for leading man Oswalt, best known for TV's The King of Queens and his turn as the voice of Remy the Rat in Pixar's animated Ratatouille. Oswalt may be unlikely to get an Oscar nomination, but he certainly deserves one.
A 36-year-old Staten Islander who watches his team on a TV set up in the stadium parking lot, Paul Aufiero is introduced at his day job, manning the booth at a parking garage. What he really lives for, however, are his New York Giants in general and being a call-in voice on The Zone, a late night sports-talk radio show, in particular.
Though he loves all the Giants, Paul's particular hero is marauding linebacker and five-time All-Pro Quantrell Bishop (newcomer Jonathan Hamm). So imagine his state of mind when he catches a glimpse of Bishop at a Staten Island gas station and decides on impulse to follow him no matter where it leads. It leads to trouble.
It is the achievement of Big Fan to let us see Paul not necessarily as a loser but as someone who has found something he loves, something that sustains him. Like a hipster with a contempt for the square world, Paul feels superior to his bourgeois relatives; he feels like he has a calling, a vocation that puts him on a higher level. When he says of his conventional siblings, "I don't want what they've got," he's telling the biggest truth he knows.
Seeing this film brought back a personal memory to me, a recollection of being a young sportswriter at a Washington Redskins home opener — the first for new coach George Allen — sitting in the press box next to the great essayist Heywood Hale Broun and being astounded as 50,000 fans screamed like they'd never screamed before. I gave Broun a questioning look, and he just shrugged.
"To the eternal question, 'Who am I,'" he said elegantly above the din, "'I am a Redskins fan' provides a convenient answer." It always has — and if Big Fan is any indication, it likely always will.
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
We don't know if the Mongolian horse races will be discussed on sports radio. But if they did come up, they might draw some comments from people like the main character of a new movie. Kenneth Turan has our Friday morning review of "Big Fan."
KENNETH TURAN: The big fan in question is Paul, a 36-year-old Staten Island parking lot attendant. What he really lives for, however, is being a call-in voice in a late-night sports talk radio program.
(Soundbite of movie, "Big Fan")
Unidentified Man #1: Let's go to my boy Paul in Staten Island. He always brings the leverage. What's on your mind, brother?
Mr. PATTON OSWALT (Actor): (as Paul Aufiero) Hey, Sports Talk. How you doing? I'm just calling to say I can't wait for this Sunday, when we finally shut these Philly clowns up once and for all.
TURAN: Paul's particular hero is a marauding linebacker named Quantrell Bishop. So imagine how excited he is when he catches a glimpse of Bishop at a local gas station and decides on impulse to follow him no matter where it leads. It leads to violence and a visit to the hospital.
(Soundbite of movie, "Big Fan")
Mr. OSWALT: (as Paul Aufiero) So I'm going to be okay?
Unidentified Woman: You sustained some pretty heavy trauma, but long run, you should be. We do need to keep you another few days for observation.
Mr. OSWALT: (as Paul Aufiero) Another few days? How long have I been here?
Unidentified Woman: Three days.
TURAN: It's not surprising that Robert Siegel is the writer/director behind "Big Fan." He's the writer of "The Wrestler," and both films share a feeling for the people who live on the fringes of professional sports. With this film, Siegel does the directing himself, and that pays dividends. The filmmaker neither denigrates, nor idealizes Paul. He may not even particularly like him, but he does respect the ferocity of his obsessions.
"Big Fan" lets us see Paul as someone who has found something that sustains him, a passion his bourgeois relatives can't understand. Seeing this film brought back a personal memory, a recollection of being a young sportswriter for the Washington Post. I was in the press box, next to the great essayist Heywood Hale Broun as 50,000 fans screamed like banshees at a Washington Redskins home opener at RFK stadium. I gave Broun a questioning look, and he just shrugged. Speaking elegantly above the din, he said, to the eternal question, who am I? I am a Redskins fan provides a convenient answer. It always has, and if "Big Fan" is any indication, it likely always will.
INSKEEP: Kenneth Turan reviews movies for MORNING EDITION and the Los Angeles Times. And you can see Paul the sports fan tailgate and trash talk in film clips at our Web site, npr.org.
You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
