Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Big Fan
Metascore
70 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
view
per page
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    91
    The movie is an unblinking look at the hidden (or perhaps not so hidden) pathology of American sports mania.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    Starring an ideally cast Patton Oswalt in the title role, Big Fan is a poignant, dead-on character study, an examination of a crisis in the life of the most die-hard of die-hard New York Giants football fans.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    One of the more thought-provoking sports movies I've seen.
  4. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    88
    A bleakly funny character study of a very particular species of urban fauna - the sports radio call-in fanatic - Big Fan' is compulsively watchable.
  5. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    88
    Near the two-minute warning, Big Fan becomes chillingly unpredictable.
  6. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    83
    Oswalt sells Auferio's pasty indecision and makes him a more sympathetic figure than he has any right to be.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    83
    Because the audience isn't privy to the hero's thoughts, the final 15 minutes or so of Big Fan are white-knuckle.
  8. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: David Fear
    80
    Unlike "The Wrestler," which Siegel scripted, Big Fan has a way of making a socially marginal figure seem oddly charismatic without stacking the sympathy deck.
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    80
    A spasmodically funny and bleak film about the love that speaks its name.
  10. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    75
    Comedian Patton Oswalt triumphantly nails every comic and dramatic nuance as Paul Aufiero, a New York Giants obsessive who has long ago moved from fan to fanatic.
  11. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    75
    Superb Noo Yawk attitude, dialogue and performances (including one from the essential Kevin Corrigan, now well into his second decade of being indie movies' dirtbag on demand) keep the movie lively and tart.
  12. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    Siegel, in his debut as director, shot the low-budget Big Fan on a digital camera and achieves an appropriately grimy, gritty look. He has an eye for the telling detail and for the comedy in tragedy.
  13. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    Sad, funny and painfully honest.
  14. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    Structured as a comedy, albeit a dark one.
  15. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    75
    There are some very funny parts but this isn't a typical sports comedy.
  16. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    75
    Siegel takes us to the brink of operatic melodrama, then lands us in a tragicomic spot: a psychological landscape of alternate life and make-believe death.
  17. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Duane Byrge
    70
    It's an unsettling, "Taxi Driver"-like character study that shows the underside to hero worship and the primal world of professional football.
  18. Slate
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    70
    With its unremittingly bleak humor and eagerness to plumb the depths of fanboy abjection, Big Fan seems destined for a future in the cult canon.
  19. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    70
    It's a small, peculiar film, one unlikely to appeal much to women, non-sports fans and mainstreamers, but its uncomfortable comic insights should win it a loyal following.
  20. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    70
    Though the movie isn't much to look at, he (Siegel) gets a credibly dark and pathetic performance from the typically comic Oswalt.
  21. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    67
    Oswalt captures the rabidness of the die-hard fan, the kind you can hear at any moment on the sports talk shows.
  22. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Whitney Borup
    60
    Comes across as a little uneven, but far from unsatisfactory. Patton Oswalt is sympathetic (at times heart breaking) and makes the film completely worth watching.
  23. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    50
    This is a flick whose failures are at least as interesting as the successes.
  24. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    50
    One thing Siegel got absolutely right in this film is the casting.
  25. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Vadim Rizov
    50
    It takes considerable effort to make Darren Aronofsky seem like a model of restraint, but Robert Siegel pulls it off in Big Fan.
  26. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    50
    Siegel's depiction of the film's supporting characters too often borders on caricature. By the movie's strained, overheated climax, it's clear that Siegel, in his directing debut, is less interested in his protagonist as a character capable of transformation than as a human petri dish of futility and pathology.
  27. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    40
    The movie gets repetitive, and when it calls an audible and goes somewhere unexpected, it pulls back quickly. Too bad.
prev next
Page:
  • 1

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Scraper
    9
    Even though the main character is written to be quite pathetic, I think it's easily relatable to everyone who has been disenchanted by one of their heroes, famous or otherwise. That's why you root for him. He's making obvious poor decisions but how easy is it really to make the right ones when the weight of the world is on your shoulders and every move matters? This movie beautifully outlines a character badly in need of a victory in a world that has so few of them. Detailed and original. If you have no insight or need cover models in your movies so your up on the latest fashions then steer clear of this great film.… Full Review »
  2. asterix11
    4
    Just don't go in to this thinking it's a comedy. It's a depressing slice of life, I guess we're supposed to find comedy in the sadness of it all. It was believable, and well acted, but quite honestly, I just stopped caring about this guy or the film at a certain point and was really nonplussed when it was over. Disappointing because it had huge potential.… Full Review »
  3. ThelmaS
    10
    Perfection - even non-sports fan will love this.
See all user reviews »