A Monday morning quarterback sneak
Big Fan
Running time: 85 minutes
MPAA rating: R (harsh profanity, some sexuality)
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Before Robert Siegel wrote the screenplay for "The Wrestler," which drew an Oscar nomination for Mickey Rourke, the native New Yorker chronicled the life of another complex everyman named Paul Aufiero.
Success opens doors. So Siegel not only brings Aufiero's fictional story to the screen with "Big Fan," he directs this sad-sack drama as well. "Big Fan" isn't likely to have the emotional or box-office impact of "The Wrestler," but it ranks pretty close when it comes to getting under the skin of a "loser" (to some) who only wants to be left alone to enjoy his little cubicle of weirdness.
"Paul from Staten Island," as Aufiero (Patton Oswalt) is known on fictional Big Apple sports radio station 760 The Zone, takes his self-proclaimed role as New York Giants' biggest fan very seriously.
He's 35, works as a distracted parking garage attendant and lives at home with his scowling mother (Marcia Jean Kurtz). One of the things I admire about Siegel's screenplay is the ease in which he makes it obvious that Mom constantly berates Paul because he calls a radio station late at night, and because he doesn't date or have a family like his ambulance-chasing attorney brother Jeff (Gino Cafarelli).
Her real underlying fear, however, might be that her son has found his own kind of happiness in a world that can be harsh. It's obvious she has not.
Anyone who saw "The Wrestler" knows Siegel shows little interest in those the world generally considers winners. Rourke's Randy "The Ram" Robinson was long past his prime and living out of his van much of the time when we caught up with him. Paul and his worshipful pal (and perhaps only friend) Sal (Kevin Corrigan of "Pineapple Express") can't even afford to attend the Giants games they so adore.
So they drive out to Giants Stadium and watch the game from the parking lot on a little TV rigged to the battery of Paul's car.
When fate puts Paul and Sal in the same Manhattan strip club as Paul's hero, fictional Giants' All-Pro linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), fan worship mixes with alcohol and accusations of stalking. Paul is beaten into a pulp by his hero.
Much of "Big Fan" deals with what happens next. When Paul wakes up in the hospital after being unconscious for 72 hours, he has two questions. What day is it? and Who won Sunday's game?
Paul's leering lawyer brother wants to sue for millions, of course. The police want answers about "what went down." And Bishop's career -- not to mention the Giants season -- hangs in the balance.
In addition to a fine journeyman performance by Oswalt (Spence on TV's "The King of Queens" for almost a decade) in his first feature lead role, Corrigan hits all the right notes as Sal, the adoring buddy.
Michael Rapaport, who appeared to be headed for stardom after Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite" (1995) but has all but disappeared from the limelight, serves up some strong moments near the end. He's the body attached to the voice of Philadelphia Phil, the Eagles fanatic.
Siegel spent many late-night hours in bed years ago listening to colorful, obsessed regular (or should we say "irregular") callers rant about their favorite teams and players. He always wondered what kind of lives those people led.
With "Big Fan," he articulates in bleak tones not only their fantasies, but perhaps his as well.
Success opens doors. So Siegel not only brings Aufiero's fictional story to the screen with "Big Fan," he directs this sad-sack drama as well. "Big Fan" isn't likely to have the emotional or box-office impact of "The Wrestler," but it ranks pretty close when it comes to getting under the skin of a "loser" (to some) who only wants to be left alone to enjoy his little cubicle of weirdness.
"Paul from Staten Island," as Aufiero (Patton Oswalt) is known on fictional Big Apple sports radio station 760 The Zone, takes his self-proclaimed role as New York Giants' biggest fan very seriously.
He's 35, works as a distracted parking garage attendant and lives at home with his scowling mother (Marcia Jean Kurtz). One of the things I admire about Siegel's screenplay is the ease in which he makes it obvious that Mom constantly berates Paul because he calls a radio station late at night, and because he doesn't date or have a family like his ambulance-chasing attorney brother Jeff (Gino Cafarelli).
Her real underlying fear, however, might be that her son has found his own kind of happiness in a world that can be harsh. It's obvious she has not.
Anyone who saw "The Wrestler" knows Siegel shows little interest in those the world generally considers winners. Rourke's Randy "The Ram" Robinson was long past his prime and living out of his van much of the time when we caught up with him. Paul and his worshipful pal (and perhaps only friend) Sal (Kevin Corrigan of "Pineapple Express") can't even afford to attend the Giants games they so adore.
So they drive out to Giants Stadium and watch the game from the parking lot on a little TV rigged to the battery of Paul's car.
When fate puts Paul and Sal in the same Manhattan strip club as Paul's hero, fictional Giants' All-Pro linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), fan worship mixes with alcohol and accusations of stalking. Paul is beaten into a pulp by his hero.
Much of "Big Fan" deals with what happens next. When Paul wakes up in the hospital after being unconscious for 72 hours, he has two questions. What day is it? and Who won Sunday's game?
Paul's leering lawyer brother wants to sue for millions, of course. The police want answers about "what went down." And Bishop's career -- not to mention the Giants season -- hangs in the balance.
In addition to a fine journeyman performance by Oswalt (Spence on TV's "The King of Queens" for almost a decade) in his first feature lead role, Corrigan hits all the right notes as Sal, the adoring buddy.
Michael Rapaport, who appeared to be headed for stardom after Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite" (1995) but has all but disappeared from the limelight, serves up some strong moments near the end. He's the body attached to the voice of Philadelphia Phil, the Eagles fanatic.
Siegel spent many late-night hours in bed years ago listening to colorful, obsessed regular (or should we say "irregular") callers rant about their favorite teams and players. He always wondered what kind of lives those people led.
With "Big Fan," he articulates in bleak tones not only their fantasies, but perhaps his as well.
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