BIG FAN (2009)
Label: Shout! Studios
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 86 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Robert Siegel
Cast: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rapaport, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Matt Servitto, Gina Camarillo, Serafina Fiore
In the Patton Oswalt (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) toxic sports-fan thriller/comedy Big Fan (2009), directed by Robert Siegel, the writer of The Wrestler, Oswalt plays Paul, the world's biggest New York Giants fan, a guy who compulsively phones into the Sports Dogg's radio talk show as "Paul from Staten Island" where he celebrates his team and chastises his rival, an equally rabid Philadelphia Eagles fan who goes by "Philadelphia Phil" (Michael Rapaport, TV's The War at Home). Paul lives with his mom and works as a parking garage attendant, his mother Theresa (Marcia Jean Kurtz, The Panic In Needle Park) regularly gets on him about getting a better job, comparing him to his injury-lawyer bother Jeff (Gino Cafarelli, Terrifier 2), which infuriates him. Paul only friend is Sal (Kevin Corrigan, Some Guy Who Kills People), and the two go to all the tailgate parties during the Giants home games, but as they cannot afford to get tickets, and watch the games from a TV in the parking lot on a tube TV connected to his car battery.
In the Patton Oswalt (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) toxic sports-fan thriller/comedy Big Fan (2009), directed by Robert Siegel, the writer of The Wrestler, Oswalt plays Paul, the world's biggest New York Giants fan, a guy who compulsively phones into the Sports Dogg's radio talk show as "Paul from Staten Island" where he celebrates his team and chastises his rival, an equally rabid Philadelphia Eagles fan who goes by "Philadelphia Phil" (Michael Rapaport, TV's The War at Home). Paul lives with his mom and works as a parking garage attendant, his mother Theresa (Marcia Jean Kurtz, The Panic In Needle Park) regularly gets on him about getting a better job, comparing him to his injury-lawyer bother Jeff (Gino Cafarelli, Terrifier 2), which infuriates him. Paul only friend is Sal (Kevin Corrigan, Some Guy Who Kills People), and the two go to all the tailgate parties during the Giants home games, but as they cannot afford to get tickets, and watch the games from a TV in the parking lot on a tube TV connected to his car battery.
One day Paul and Sal are grabbing pizza when they see Paul's favorite NYG player Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) in Manhattan and follow him around, they force a meeting with him at a strip club where Paul mentions that he saw him earlier in the night in Manhattan, unaware that what he witnessed was a drug deal, resulting in Bishop beating the snot out of Paul who ends up in the hospital with severe cranial injuries. What follows is Paul dealing with the consequences of the attack, being pressed by a detective (Matt Servitto, The Sopranos) to press charges against the football player, but is unwilling to file lawsuit for the violent act perpetrated against him for fear of ruining his favorite team's season. His injury lawyer brother steps in and tries to bring suit on Paul's behalf, angering Paul who thinks that the lawsuit, meanwhile, Philadelphia Phil exposes Paul as Paul from Staten Island, embarrassing him for being beaten by his favorite player, sending Paul, who is mentally unravelling after the beating, on a mission to get back at Phi, resulting in Paul headed to Philly masquerading as an Eagles fan.
Big Fan is a terrific dark comedy that examines the fanatical tribalism of sports fans, Oswalt delivers what I still feel is his best performance on screen, somehow actually making you feel sympathy for a character who is quite unlikable, showing us his bleak and sad life of an obsessed sports fan, it's quite an interesting character study wrapped up in a bitterly dark comedy, recommended.
Audio/Video: Big Fan (2009) arrives on Blu-ray from Shout! Studios in 1080p HD widescreen framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. It's a solid looking disc that improves in all the expected areas over the previous DVD. Audio on the disc is English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles. The track is mostly dialogue driven, delivering a well-balanced and modest sound stage without any hiss or distortion.
Sadly there are no extras for Big Fan, I would have loved at least a Oswalt/Siegel commentary on this one, but alas, it's a barebones release. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork.
Special Features:
- None
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