First-time feature director Matt Aselton, who co-wrote the darkly funny, well-observed script with Adam Nagata, has crafted a disarming tale that's one of the better independent films in recent memory.
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
This quirky and engaging comedy sports smart dialogue, a surreal premise and a stellar cast.
Anyone can go off and just cynically make a bad movie, but to make a picture as inert, incompetent and emotionally fraudulent as Gigantic takes sincere faith that one is, in fact, making something really, really good.
Eventually Gigantic decides to become a heartwarmer, and why not? Any ending -- including nuclear devastation or a 1940s musical number -- would have worked, too.
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.
There was just something about this movie that drew me in. Part of it is the borderline surreal method with which the film tells its story.
The script is sharp, well written, and with some strong performances, especially John Goodman.
It's hard to imagine why anyone would build a whole film around Paul Dano -- or that anyone will again after seeing this movie.
Has a few moments of offbeat humor and boasts a charming, tender performance, as usual, by Zooey Deschanel, but it often falls flat as a convoluted comedy, drama, mystery and romance. It has too many poorly developed storylines that simmer together for 98
The protagonist might be so laid-back that he practically disappears, but the picture itself tries much too hard--and stumbles.
With curdled humor and cardboard characters, this ghastly movie completely misses the mark.
Seriously? Indie directors are still making painfully twee, self-conscious romances all these years after Sundance birthed so many quirky cliches?
There's nothing inside, nothing to connect the film with the emotions of living people.
With its off-center dialogue and upscale industrial settings, Gigantic strains to be original. But beneath its indie affectations it is really another contemplation of generational misunderstanding.
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.
An oddball romantic comedy about the relationship between a nurturing male and a ditzy young woman who doesn't have a clue as to what she really wants.
sinks under the weight of its peculiarities, making a possibly big story feel like no big deal.
Any resemblance the film bears to real people and real situations is purely coincidental.
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