Following up his first filmed screenplay ("The Wrestler"),
writer-director Robert Siegel once again demonstrates in the 2009
release "Big Fan" (airing at The Saratoga Film Forum this weekend) a
unique and potent vision of the human experience, in all of its harsh
truths and hopeful humanity.
The plot of "Big Fan" centers around Paul Aufiero (played by Patton Oswalt), who is a 35-year-old parking garage attendant from StatenIsland and the "world's biggest New York Giants fan." He lives at home with his mother (Marcia Jean Kurtz), spending his off hours calling in to local sports-radio station 760 "The Zone," where he rants in support of his beloved team, often against his mysterious on-air rival, Eagles fan Philadelphia Phil (Michael Rapaport).
His family berates him for doing nothing with his life, but they don't understand the depth of his love of the Giants or the responsibility Paul believes his fandom carries.
One night, Paul and his best friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan) spot Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) at a gas station in their neighborhood. They impulsively follow his limo into Manhattan, to a strip club, where they hang in the background, agog at their hero.
The fallout of this chance encounter brings Paul's world crashing down around him as his family, the team, the media and the authorities engage in a tug of war over Paul, testing his allegiances and calling into question everything he believes in. Meanwhile, the Giants march toward a late-season showdown with the Eagles, unaware that sometimes the most brutal struggles take place far from the field of play.
His family berates him for doing nothing with his life, but they don't understand the depth of his love of the Giants or the responsibility Paul believes his fandom carries.
One night, Paul and his best friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan) spot Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) at a gas station in their neighborhood. They impulsively follow his limo into Manhattan, to a strip club, where they hang in the background, agog at their hero.
The fallout of this chance encounter brings Paul's world crashing down around him as his family, the team, the media and the authorities engage in a tug of war over Paul, testing his allegiances and calling into question everything he believes in. Meanwhile, the Giants march toward a late-season showdown with the Eagles, unaware that sometimes the most brutal struggles take place far from the field of play.
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