Comments on: Big Fan

By: Virgin Gary

Virgin Gary — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:57:01 +0000

just saw this movie the other day and really liked it, better than THE WRESTLER in fact, which i have some problems with. and oswalt is really, really good in it, delivering a layered and nuanced performance. and the premise is kind of genius because in any other movie where a huge fan got beat up or somehow wronged by his hero, the point would be the disillusionment that he suffers, but with this movie it’s the opposite.

i think it’s kind of misleading to simply call it a drama though. i think it’s somewhere in between drama and black comedy.

[SPOILERS HO!] my one very minor complaint is that the ending was a little bit too upbeat to fit with what came before. i mean, i was actually considerably relieved when it turned out he didn’t do anything as bad as what we all feared, but narratively and thematically the movie still ends with paul in kind of a sad place, and the music cue right after it’s revealed that he just used paintball is funny and goofy in a way that the rest of the movie isn’t, and it kind of makes the coda scene in jail seem almost cute. i think the movie would have been actually more effective and tonally consistent if it simply changed that music cue. but, really, it’s a minor gripe.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:36:43 +0000

When Quint interviewed Patton about Ratatouille, this exhange occured:

Quint: I’m looking forward to seeing it with a full audience tonight.

Patton Oswalt: So, is Vern going to be there?

Quint: No, he’s in Seattle I think. I’ve never met Vern, but he’s my favorite writer on the site.

Patton Oswalt: He’s so good. I wish he would review more often or I wish that they would… because his reviews get read so often… although he is so harsh, so it’s tough to tell studios “Hey, let Vern see your movie…” but he’s not a guy going like “Oh, I’m going to write a mean review…” It always comes from disappointment… he wants movies to be great, you know?

Quint: Yeah.

By: dan

dan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:25:13 +0000

alright, this was a pretty great movie. review was spot on.
i’d like to see Patton start getting some more real roles like this, instead of the typecast ‘fat best friend’ slot he’s always lumped into. face paint scene was very tense, and i really liked the ending.

By: AsimovLives

AsimovLives — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:49:09 +0000

And don’t forget that KING OF COMEDY bombed.

By: Gwai Lo

Gwai Lo — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:26:54 +0000

Saw the film and liked it. I’m surprised that none of the reviews I’ve read have mentioned THE FAN, with Snipes and De Niro. They’re pretty similar on a conceptual level. The key difference is that Oswalt’s character is kind of sympathetic while De Niro’s is kind of cartoonishly evil when all is said and done. This film’s closest spiritual cousin is probably that other De Niro crazy fan movie, KING OF COMEDY. I think the marketing may screw this one over though. People will go in expecting PAUL BLART: MALL COP and they’ll get OBSERVE AND REPORT instead.

By: AsimovLives

AsimovLives — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:11:27 +0000

The movie posits an interesting question: what would you do if your favorite star did a very bad thing for you? What if Christopher Nolan beated the shit out of me? Would i still think of him as this great genious director? Or would my opinion of him and his movies completly changed because of a personal issue? And would I be in the right to do so?

Our relationship with our stars, our idols, is a funny thing. Why we devote so much attention and interest for a person we will never meet? A person who, in all truth, is just another one of us.

I suspect this movie hit very close to Vern’s heart because i think he mgiht had a similiar scenario thinking on his head for him, inthis case, Vern getting the shit beaten out by Steven Segal. What says you, Venerable Vern? Would you still love the dude if he gave you the same beating that the protagonist of BIG FAN got from his idol?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:25:44 +0000

Thanks for the factoids, Vern. I was wondering why the Onion lost its edge a few years back. Figured somebody key had left. Now I realise I’m continuing to enjoy that edge, just in a different medium.

By: dan

dan — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:00:50 +0000

i’ve been meaning to check this out. sometimes these desperate character profiles really get under my skin, but i’ll think i’ll man up and watch it.

By: Stu

Stu — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:24:21 +0000

CJ- Yeah, I saw the trailer for this a while ago, so I know it’s a drama, but looking at that poster, you could imagine people thinking it’s a comedy. All it’s missing is a white background and the title being in big red letters.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:08:01 +0000

*weird