For legions of people, sports teams are religion and their favorite players are their idols. This notion sparks the premise of Big Fan, the exhilarating directing debut from Robert Siegel, the screenwriter of The Wrestler. Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt), a 35-year-old parking-garage attendant from working-class Staten Island, is the self-described “world’s biggest New York Giants fan.” One night Paul and his best friend, Sal, spot star Giants linebacker Quantrell Bishop at a gas station in Staten Island. They impulsively follow his SUV into Manhattan to a strip club, where they finally muster up the courage to talk to their hero. The encounter starts out as a dream come true for the fan and then turns into a nightmare as a misunderstanding ignites into a violent confrontation, and Paul is sent down a path that will test his devotion to the extreme. Patton Oswalt is perfectly cast as Paul, infusing him with a humanity that renders him empathetic instead of pathetic. Big Fan resonates with truth and insight, and the result is a film that will make you laugh and wince at the same time—a very winning combination. The film stars Patton Oswalt, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Corrigan, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Matt Servitto and is due in theaters on August 28th, 2009.
This movie looks incredible, who would a thought that Patton Oswalt would be in a drama that I would want to see. Crazy world.