Week 3: Big Fan (2009)

Posted on January 19, 2010 Updated on January 25, 2010

Big Fan
Directed by Robert D. Siegel
Written by Robert D. Siegel
Starring Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rapaport
Cinematography by Michael Simmonds
Distributed by First Independent Pictures
Running time 91 minutes

Before Viewing
The writer George Will has stated that sports is a great communal experience, and I totally agree. I didn’t get into following or playing sports until my high school years, but I enjoy them now, mainly because I like following my local teams along with my family and my friends. Two of the biggest thrills in my life were watching the Arizona Cardinals playing in last year’s Super Bowl and watching the Arizona Diamondback win the 2001 World Series. However, I’m not one of those guys who lives and dies with his team. I’ll get bummed if my team loses, but it’s not the end of the world. I’ve never gotten in a fight or arrested because of a sporting event (but I’ve seen it happen at many games!)

There are people out there who don’t like pro sports. They say things like ‘Why would I want to watch grown men playing games?’ Unfortunately, I think they’re missing the boat if they look at sports simply like that. There is a great grand drama being played out on those courts, fields, and rinks, and that’s what I enjoy. I also know that there are those who are the complete opposite- those who eat and breathe sports and live for the weekend. I hear them on both national and local sports talk radio. Some of the callers are knowledgable fans, other are true fanatics. You have to wonder about some of them sometimes.

Imagine my joy when I found out that Patton Oswalt, who I enjoyed as Spence on ‘The King of Queens’, was in an an independent film about a sports fan who gets into some trouble with a player on his favorite team. Imagine how that joy doubled when I saw it was written and directed by the guy who wrote ‘The Wrestler’, the best movie of 2008 (in my opinion). The film is called ‘Big Fan’, and it was getting good reviews. I got my hands on the DVD as soon as I could.

My Thoughts After Viewing
There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about this film. First of all, Paul (Patton Oswalt) is a pathetic loner in the same mold as Rupert Pupkin from Scorsese’s underrated ‘The King of Comedy’. All Paul wants is to follow the New York Giants and find fame on the local sports talk radio show calling in as ‘Paul From Staten Island’. One of the earliest scenes in the film is Paul sitting in the parking lot booth he works out of, carefully scribbling down the sports ‘take’ he’s going to use later when he calls in to his favorite show. You can tell in real life when guys do this on shows like Jim Rome, but that’s because there’s a lot of pressure to be funny and right on the mark with your comments. It’s clear this is important to Paul, and his good (only) friend encourages him to do his best. As a viewer, though, it’s actually kind of sad to see how this is the most important thing in his life. He still lives at home, has no girlfriend (except for his right hand, according to his mom), and has a job that will take him nowhere. He’s OK with that, however, because he still has the Giants. He and his friend go tailgating before games and you see them among fellow Giants fans, but even that’s somewhat pathetic because come game time, they’re still in the parking lot, watching the game on a TV since they can’t afford tickets.

Chance brings them to have an encounter with their favorite player, a linebacker named QB, but through an unfortunate choice of words, Paul ends up getting beat up by his hero. When he comes to after being out for three days, Paul finds out that QB has been suspended and that the Giants lead on the division over the Eagles is in danger. Paul knows that if he presses charges, QB might be out for the year, hurting the team he loves. This becomes his dilemma and it causes the viewer to reflect- how far would you go for your favorite team? Paul goes into denial, and it’s especially sad during a scene where he confronts his lawyer brother, who files a lawsuit against QB on Paul’s behalf. Paul goes so far as to blame himself for the incident, and you realize he is exhibiting some of the same behaviors as a battered wife. It’s very sobering. Compounding his dilemma is the fact that the media is hounding him, and his on-air rival, an Eagles fan named Philadelphia Phil, reveals how ‘Paul in Staten Island’ and the Paul who got beat up by QB are one and the same. Paul gets pushed to the brink of his sanity, and he decides to take drastic measures.

Patton Oswalt was excellent as Paul. You really felt bad for him in the scenes with his mother, as she was really hard on him since she felt he was aimless (much like how the mother at the beginning of ‘Boogie Nights’ drove off young Dirk Diggler). He plays the loser/loner role so well on TV, but this gritter, darker dimension suits him very well. Having listened to years of sports radio, I do think his on-air ‘takes’ were delivered somewhat weakly, but that probably comes from the fact that Patton Oswald doesn’t like sports. There’s a certain venom that comes with trash talking, and it seemed to be missing from the phone calls. Other than that, he was outstanding.

The other actors and actresses were good, and I liked the fact they used regular, everyday people in these roles. The actors that you do recognize (‘hey, isn’t that the cop from ‘The Sopranos’?) have an everyman quality about themselves so that the film does appear documentary in nature, much like ‘The Wrestler’.

However, this is where I also see some fault with the film. It’s truly an independent feature, and it shows. Normally, that’s not usually a bad thing, but in this film, I felt like it hurt it somewhat because it gave it a ‘cheap’ feeling. For example, this is a film about a man who is a fanatical NFL New York Giants fan, but throughout the whole movie there is not ONE SCENE of football being played. Even when the characters are watching a game, you see the back of the TV but never the front. No live shots, no game footage, nothing. The movie is ABOUT a sports fan- shouldn’t we actually see some sports? We’re shown a scene of Paul and his friend hanging out at a tailgate with thousands of Giants fans, during the scene where they’re in the parking lot, watching the game on TV, there’s NO CROWD NOISE coming from what should be a sold out stadium. It’s things like this that just seem to shout ‘We’re playing make-believe here!’ Even ‘The Wrestler’ had pretty authentic wrestling scenes. It’s a shame this film couldn’t showcase the source of Paul’s fanaticsm.

However, these are minor quibbles. With a little bit bigger budget, this probably could have been corrected. In the end, the acting really carries this film- as it should be.

The Final Verdict
This is a good film, though not perfect. I really wanted to love it, but I can’t say that I did. I’m going to watch it again. I’d really recommend it if you like sports and sports talk radio. It’s worth seeing for Patton Oswalt’s performance.