Big Fan is written and directed by Robert D. Siegel, the writer of my favorite film of 2008, The Wrestler, so I really expected nothing short of greatness. And I got what I expected…
The film stars Patton Oswalt as Paul Aufiero, a sad and lonely New York Giants fan who lives with his mother. Patton isn’t your typical leading man, but he delivers on all levels an exceptionally dark performance. Paul regularly calls in to a local late-night sports talk show, where he spews a pre-written speech about the greatness of his favorite player, a quarterback named Quantrell Bishop. Paul’s nemesis is realized early on: a Philadelphia Eagles fan, nicknamed “Philadelphia Phil”, played by Michael Rapaport, who also calls in to the show. The movie takes a sharp twist when Paul sees Quantrell out in public and follows him to a club. All goes well until Quantrell finds out Paul had followed him all the way from Staten Island. From there things get a little messy.
Patton Oswalt really shines in this role. Not once did I think about his other roles, such as his nine-season stint as Spence Olchin on The King of Queens, or even his two-decades as a stand-up comedian. Oswalt shows us what he can do, displaying a wide-range of emotion, from angry to stoic, to just plain pathetic.
While watching this, I couldn’t help but wonder: why hasn’t this been done before? It’s such a simple idea, yet it’s done so perfectly and gracefully. Big Fan is a combination of Taxi Driver and 1996’s The Fan. It’s dark, yet not sinister. It builds slow, yet with comedy, not anger. Big Fan is a huge step for Patton Oswalt and sports films in general, and is a perfect movie for any sports fan.