In Big Fan Paul Aufiero, a hardcore New York Giants football fan, struggles to deal with the consequences when he is beaten up by his favorite player.
Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt), a 35-year-old parking attendant who lives at home with his mother, is the self-described world s biggest New York Giants fan. He spends his off hours calling local sports-radio stations where he rants in support of his beloved team. One night, Paul and his best friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan) spot Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop and follows his limo to a strip club. Paul decides to approach his hero but things don t go as planned…
The chance encounter brings Paul s world crashing down around him as his family, the team, the media and the authorities engage in a tug of war over Paul, testing his allegiances and calling into question everything he believes in.
Awards
Gotham Awards 2009 – Won: Breakthrough Director Award, Nominated: Best
Film
Sundance Film Festival 2009 – Nominated: Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Reviews
“One of the more thought-provoking sports movies I've seen.”
Roger Ebert
“Starring an ideally cast Patton Oswalt in the title role, Big Fan is a poignant, dead-on character study, an examination of a crisis in the life of the most die-hard of die-hard New York Giants football fans.” Los Angeles Times
“Superb Noo Yawk attitude, dialogue and performances (including one from the essential Kevin Corrigan, now well into his second decade of being indie movies' dirtbag on demand) keep the movie lively and tart.” New York Post
“With its unremittingly bleak humor and eagerness to plumb the depths of fanboy abjection, Big Fan seems destined for a future in the cult canon.” Slate
“The movie is an unblinking look at the hidden (or perhaps not so hidden) pathology of American sports mania.” Entertainment Weekly
“A bleakly funny character study of a very particular species of urban fauna – the sports radio call-in fanatic – Big Fan’ is compulsively watchable.” Boston Globe