Happy would be sad if you didn't want to see her story. And you wouldn't like a Manic Pixie Dream Girl when she's angry.
Gigantic (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:72
Fresh:27
Rotten:45
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: This overly quirky, incessantly whimsical indie is too self-conscious for its own good.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, some sexual content and violence.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Apr 3, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: GIGANTIC’s Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) isn’t your average 28-year-old man. He sleepily works as a mattress salesman while he tries to fulfill his lifelong dream of adopting a Chinese baby. But... GIGANTIC’s Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) isn’t your average 28-year-old man. He sleepily works as a mattress salesman while he tries to fulfill his lifelong dream of adopting a Chinese baby. But Brian’s somnambulist state is interrupted by the arrival of Harriet Lolly (Zooey Deschanel), who prefers going by the name "Happy." She stops by the mattress store after her rich, bullying father (John Goodman) buys the most expensive bed on the salesroom floor, and she immediately draws Brian into her world. A romance with Happy beckons, but Brian is close to achieving his goal. Now if he could only avoid the violent attacks of the crazy homeless man who is stalking him.... Like many small black comedies, GIGANTIC is driven by its characters, an indie-rock soundtrack, and some seemingly random elements that set it apart from its studio counterparts. But GIGANTIC’s tiny status doesn’t mean that it is lacking in the casting department. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and THERE WILL BE BLOOD have demonstrated Dano’s range, and he plays a fully formed character here. Deschanel (YES MAN) again plays a vibrant, quirky love interest that will be familiar to viewers of indie films like GARDEN STATE and her own work in WEEDS and FLAKES. But the prize should really go to Goodman, who adds authenticity to his character’s strangeness, remaining likable even as he threatens the lives of Brian’s parents. [More]
Starring: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Ed Asner
Starring: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Ed Asner, Jane Alexander, Zach Galifianakis
Director: Matt Aselton
Director: Matt Aselton
Screenwriter: Adam Nagata, Matt Aselton
Producer: Mindy Goldberg, Christine Vachon
Studio: First Independent Pictures
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Reviews for Gigantic
...the story of how two emotionally damaged but terribly affected andprivileged underachievers meet, fall in love and presumably somehow form a family.
The script is sharp, well written, and with some strong performances, especially John Goodman.
It's just not all that interesting to watch two pretty young things go through the muddled rituals of the pas de duh when I can, you know, do it just as poorly myself.
Any resemblance the film bears to real people and real situations is purely coincidental.
Gigantic plays like a Sundance movie with half the nouns removed; fetchingly cryptic for a while, it's ultimately just obscure.
With curdled humor and cardboard characters, this ghastly movie completely misses the mark.
Gigantic is the sort of kitchen sink movie many first-time directors make, mistakenly believing that they have to throw every idea they've ever come up with into just one film in case they never get a chance to make another.
If there's anything truly celebratory about Gigantic, it's the exposed performances from Dano and Deschanel.
Was there any idea that came to writer-director Matt Aselton while he made "Gigantic" that he didn't use? Seriously, that cutting room floor must have beenSPOTLESS.
The kind of mumbling, lank-haired, achingly self-conscious indie rom-com that gives mumbling, lank-haired, achingly self-conscious indie rom-coms a bad name.
On the basis of Gigantic, Matt Aselton can make a fine and original film. This isn't quite it, but it has moments so good, all you wish for is a second draft.
One of those indies that seems to be trying to top the quirkiness quotient of Juno.
A note to all indie filmmakers (one that will be too late for Matt Aselton, writer (with Adam Nagata) and director of GIGANTIC): quirky is a tone, not a plot.
Gigantic is the sort of kitchen sink movie many first-time directors make, mistakenly believing that they have to throw every idea they've ever come up with into just one film in case they never get a chance to make another.
There's nothing inside, nothing to connect the film with the emotions of living people.
A likable cast brings some charm and humour to Gigantic but it remains an overly mannered, self-conscious effort.
By the end, I was thoroughly alienated by the movie's twee, self-satisfied empty-headedness and rooting for the homeless man to do his worst.
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| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
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