Big Fan Review (Eagles Fan Version)

--Posted By BountyBowl--

As part of my beat as IgglesBlog Lifestyle & Culture editor, I checked out Big Fan, the new film from Robert Siegel a.k.a. the guy who wrote The Wrestler.  If you're unfamiliar with the film -- which opened Friday in exactly one theater each in New York and Philly, so there's a pretty good chance you are -- it follows Paul Aufiero, a sadsack/ hardcase Giants fan from Staten Island who likes to call into latenight sports-talk radio shows and watch Giants games on a TV jury-rigged to his car battery in the parking lot of Giants stadium. 

Normally, a film about a New York Giants fan is pretty much the exact opposite of what I'd like to spend $12 to sit in an uncomfortable seat to see, but my research on the film had revealed that the plot involved a sports-talk radio rivalry with a mysterious character called Philadelphia Phil, as well as additional Eagles-related narrative elements.  Well well!  It's no Invincible, sure, but anything that involves the Birds -- and their glorious fans, no less -- on the big screen is enough to get me out to the movies.

What you need to know as an Eagles fan (and moviegoer, but mostly as an Eagles fan):

Sober moments of reflection were at a minimum.  Given the gushing reviews and ominous tone of the trailer, I was worried I was walking into a ninety-minute lecture in re: Why I Waste So Much Time And Emotional Energy On Something As Trivial As Pro Football.  I'll note that I had similar worries walking into The Hangover: anxiety that the film would prompt some sort of introspective lifestyle change.  Whew.  I feel very comfortable saying that I did not feel judged at all by Big Fan.  Nope.  And while I didn't walk out of the film looking to book a flight to Vegas (my reaction to The Hangover), I also didn't feel guilty about the blog thing.  Close one.      

Speaking of guilty, the movie is about you.  Sort of.  Look, if you read this site, you're a hardcase.  (And if that statement makes you squirm, take some solace in the fact that at least you aren't writing the site.)  I mean, I assume few of us are as sad as Paul, but as a sports-talk radio enthusiast, I can't pretend that there weren't moments that resonated.  But Paul isn't exactly like us -- he actually had to go to a friend's place to "borrow" his Internet.  WHUUUHHH?  There are people obsessed with sports who don't follow their team fiendishly on the Internet?  Without giving too much away, it's probably exactly that lack of 21st-century detail that makes Paul so charming -- this is not a man who embraces change. 

Remy really likes the G-Men.  Patton Oswalt plays Paul.  If you're unfamiliar with Oswalt, he's also the guy who did the voice for Remy in Ratatouille.  I'll admit there were moments when I felt like there was a cartoon rat up there on screen screaming about the Giants.  (You can make fun of me for being familiar with Ratatouille now.)

No mention of Santa Claus or Michael Irvin.  So they made a whole movie about boorish behavior from football fans, and specifically Philadelphia Eagles fans, and didn't play the "Those Eagles fans are such disgusting cretins" card.  The Eagles fans in the film were just as obnoxious as the Giants fans -- no fingers were pointed.  I found this charmingly refreshing.  

If you were making up a name for an imaginary athlete, you could have done a lot worse.  The plot involves Paul's encounter with a fictional All-Pro linebacker named Quantrell Bishop.  If I told you that there was an actual guy named Quantrell Bishop out of Arizona State who had a shot to make the Chiefs, you wouldn't doubt it for a moment.  In fact, I think the Eagles might consider trading Reggie Brown for him; he might even end up starting against Carolina.  See?  Quantrell Bishop.  It plays.  (It's worth noting that all the other player names were legit -- plenty of McNabb and Westbrook in there.) 

First time, long time.  There's a ton of well-written dialogue in the film, sure, but I really appreciated that they nailed all the sports-talk cliches.  All the blathering on the fake radio and in the fake broadcasts is completely legit, almost comically so.  Good stuff.  And they also avoided purposefully dumb mixups about divisions and conferences and whatnot.  And I liked that they had Philadelphia Phil kitted out in a throwback Reggie White jersey (white, no less).  The only thing that didn't make sense was some nonsense about L.J. Smith being a useful and productive player for the Eagles.  That's just patently ridiculous. 

The eerie Plaxico Burress angle.  After the film ended, Robert Siegel showed up for some Q&A with the crowd, and someone asked him about the Plaxico Burress angle.  While Siegel explained that the film was written and shot before Plax's unfortunate handgun accident, he did admit that the parallels to the film are pretty awkward.  The plot of Big Fan involves an incident at a strip club that earns the Giants' star player a suspension and sends the G-Men's season into a tailspin, culminating in a big game against the Eagles.  Sound familiar?  It gets better: the strip club in the film is the club where Antonio Pierce and Plax were hanging out earlier in the night (before the Latin Quarter), and the woman who plays Paul's sister-in-law was working there when she was cast for the film (and claimed to have been at the club the night that Plax shot himself).  Yup.  Eerie.     

Oh right, the movie.  At the most general/ non-spoiler level, but I think I can say that if you liked The Wrestler, you'll probably like Big Fan.  More specifically, if you were into The Wrestler's take on people and their capacity for evolution and change, well, this should all make sense.  It's probably a little slow in the middle, but it's well-written, and the characters actually have a bit of depth to them.  Also, you won't hate how the football-related bits go down.  Worth a watch.