What it’s about
For obsessive, portly parking attendant Paul Aufiero (Oswalt), sports are a religion, and no one on Staten Island not to mention the free world is more devoted to the New York Giants, something even his on-air nemesis, Philadelphia Phil (Rapaport), a diehard Eagles fan, concedes. So one night, when Paul and his best buddy Sal (Corrigan) spot Giants quarterback Quattrell Bishop (Hamm) fueling up at a gas station, they cant resist tailing him to a Manhattan strip club. Things dont so go so well when when they decide, unwisely, to approach their idol for some face time…
Why we love it
Lovable losers populate all sorts of Hollywood comedies, but none quite stick in the memory like Patton Oswalt’s Paul, a shlubby, emotionally stunted Staten Islander who lives at home with his mom (he’s 35) and spends far too much time arguing about football with sports-radio hosts. Then a surprisingly violent encounter with his favorite player forces him to look anew at his life. Conceived and directed by Robert Siegel, former editor-in-chief of The Onion and screenwriter of “The Wrestler,” “Big Fan” is a caustically funny look at fanaticism, media overkill, and getting your life on the right track.