Big Fan

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Big Fan

R

2009

1h 28m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

89 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Paul Aufiero, a parking-garage employee, is a huge fan of the New York Giants. He lives at home with his mother and spends much of his free time extolling the virtues of his favorite football team on sports radio. One night, Paul and his best friend, Sal, spy Giants linebacker Quantrell Bishop in their neighborhood and follow him to a strip club. Paul decides to approach his idol, but the encounter goes very badly.

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Critics Consensus

Featuring Patton Oswalt's sympathetic portrayal, Big Fan humorously and effectively captures the dark and lonely world of a sports fanatic.

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Linda Barnard

Toronto Star

Nov 29, 2009

3/4

First-time director Siegel shows promise. His script is solid, and although the last act feels somewhat awkward, the idea is clever.

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Jonathan F. Richards

Film.com

Nov 22, 2009

Writer-director Robert D. Siegel grew up listening to callers like Paul on The FAN, New York City's all-sports radio, and he gives us a bizarrely sympathetic portrait of a guy who is as devout and as obsessive as any religious fanatic.

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Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

Oct 23, 2009

3/4

It's a classic situation, transplanted to a small, petty arena. When I think of this movie, I think of Oswalt, how his anguish feels real (whether we understand it or not) and how his face unaccountably becomes an offbeat locus of dignity.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Sep 9, 2024

4/5

Fifteen years later, Big Fan might show its age in some ways but it still holds up with a phenomenal Patton Oswalt performance.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Aug 25, 2023

2.5/4

Paul’s fandom digs him into a hole, but he doesn’t learn anything from it [...] Big fans like Paul are dedicated no matter the circumstances, whether their teams are winning or not, and their resolve is scarily unshakable.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Sep 1, 2021

3/4

Big Fan stretches credulity in spots, but, for the most part, it manages to keep its eye on the ball.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 17, 2026

Big Fan = a *3* star movie...

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Bucky R

@Bucky3085 Jun 16, 2025

At 80 minutes, it still felt long. It's a bit more appealing for NYG/PHI fans.

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Stephen J

@RT39775380 Nov 29, 2024

Patton Oswalt is miscast. This is a " B" movie for sure. Too much wasted time on several scenes, like walking through a bar, you sit and watch 10 minutes of Patton walking through a bar until he finds the person he's looking for. Ugh. Okay so some good points: his mother did a good job of acting. You are left with "how can a guy in his thirties be such a loser". That is one of the things the writer and director wanted to come across, and they got that across for sure.

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Herb F

@herb.fuchs Aug 24, 2021

A bit violent but an interesting story about professional sports fans who take their enthusiasm a bit too far.

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dave s

@RT68722908 Nov 24, 2020

If you go into Big Fan expecting a Patton Oswald comedy, you will be deeply disappointed. Big Fan is a dark, brooding, and pensive character study of a man fanatically obsessed with the New York Giants, to the point where it impacts on all aspects of his life and those around him. If there is any humor, it is dark to the point where it is hard to see. The broader theme is clearly the danger of any kind of fanaticism, regardless of whether it is sports, religion, politics, etc and the negative impact it can have on society. Directed by Robert Siegel with great confidence, close-ups are used effectively and the periodically jarring editing helps give the viewer a sense of the protagonist's mental decline. This is a small but powerful film.

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bryan b

@heybryan Jul 11, 2020

If you ever wondered who calls in to sports radio shows

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Robert D. Siegel

Director

Patton Oswalt

Paul Aufiero

Kevin Corrigan

Sal

Marcia Jean Kurtz

Theresa Aufiero

Michael Rapaport

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Matt Servitto

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Synopsis

Paul Aufiero, a parking-garage employee, is a huge fan of the New York Giants. He lives at home with his mother and spends much of his free time extolling the virtues of his favorite football team on sports radio. One night, Paul and his best friend, Sal, spy Giants linebacker Quantrell Bishop in their neighborhood and follow him to a strip club. Paul decides to approach his idol, but the encounter goes very badly.

Director: Robert D. Siegel
Producer: Jean Kouremetis, Elan Bogarin
Screenwriter: Robert D. Siegel
Distributor: First Independent Pictures
Production Co: First Independent Pictures, Big Fan Productions, Economy Pictures
Rating: R (Language|Some Sexuality)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 28, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $234.4K
Runtime: 1h 28m

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