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Poster for Big Fan

Big Fan

2009 · 1h 31m · R Comedy, Drama
Directed by Robert D. Siegel

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Overview

Paul Aufiero, a 35-year-old parking-garage attendant from Staten Island, is the self-described "world's biggest New York Giants fan". One night, Paul and his best friend Sal spot Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop at a gas station and decide to follow him. At a strip club Paul cautiously decides to approach him but the chance encounter brings Paul's world crashing down around him.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
86%
Tomatometer
Fresh

First-time director Siegel shows promise. His script is solid, and although the last act feels somewhat awkward, the idea is clever.

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star
Fresh

Writer-director Robert D. Siegel grew up listening to callers like Paul on The FAN, New York City's all-sports radio, and he gives us a bizarrely sympathetic portrait of a guy who is as devout and as obsessive as any religious fanatic.

Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com
Fresh

It's a classic situation, transplanted to a small, petty arena. When I think of this movie, I think of Oswalt, how his anguish feels real (whether we understand it or not) and how his face unaccountably becomes an offbeat locus of dignity.

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Fresh

Though the movie isn't much to look at, he gets a credibly dark and pathetic performance from the typically comic Oswalt.

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Fresh

A comedy with dark undertones, it asks: What kind of a man listens to and calls sports talk radio compulsively, even at 2 a.m.? Even out of season? Even on, say, Thanksgiving? He should get a life, do you think?

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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