'Big Fan': Patton Oswalt and Kevin Corrigan fans unite!

Tags: Big Fan, Commentary, Kevin Corrigan, Patton Oswalt

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I’m late to the game on Big Fan, I know–Robert Siegel’s tough, warm, up-close, compassionate, merciless little drama about the big football passions of a little shmo came and mostly went in early September. (Owen gave it love on the page.) Me, I didn’t see the movie until just the other week, and I was knocked out by the utterly honest performances of Oswalt (a great comedian playing nakedly serious) and Corrigan (a great character actor throwing himself into the part with typical ferocity).

See it, is what I’m saying; I guarantee you’ll be hearing more about Big Fan on year-end best lists. Meanwhile, I’ve gotten to thinking about the wonderful, hype-free experience of coming to a movie in my own good time and becoming…a fan. The other day in a supermarket, I overheard a lady talking to a friend about this great little movie she just Netflixed, called Lymelife, and weren’t Kieran and Rory Culkin terrific and how about that Alec Baldwin and…I almost forgot I needed to buy orange juice, I was so intent on eavesdropping. The movie, by the way, had come and gone from most movie theaters in early Spring.

So this has led me to wondering: What have you discovered on your own this past year long after the publicity parade has passed by? What have you loved without benefit of current movie ads, and recommended to friends? Share.

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Comments (12 total) Add your comment

KR
Tue 10/20/09 7:55 PM

I really liked Bottleshock, cute, not amazing. It has a great cast and a good story.

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Marshall
Tue 10/20/09 8:27 PM

I love Corrigan…one of the best parts of “Pineapple Express.” Unfortunately, the public didn’t get on the “Big Fan” bus and it only stayed in my town for one week. I said to myself, “Oh, they’ll save it for at least two weeks.” Wrong.

Marshall
http://marshallandthemovies.com

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Drew
Tue 10/20/09 8:59 PM

I completely agree about Big Fan, I had to see it while I was in Chicago because it has yet to/never will come to Cincinnati. But a different film I enjoyed this summer was Moon. After I saw that it had been playing for two months I figured there was something to it, and ended up seeing one of my favorite science-fiction films of recent memory.

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JayBone
Tue 10/20/09 10:04 PM

District 9. The movie that blew me away.

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- Kathryn
  Tue 10/20/09 11:02 PM
  
  Uff. That was a fabulous movie, although difficult to watch. I just started crying for no specific reason after it ended, I got so wrapped up in the intensity. Quite an experience.
  
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BruceE
Wed 10/21/09 1:51 PM

LYMELIFE. Beyond startling and impressive. It did come and go so I bought the Blu-ray. The story moved me. The directing didn’t remotely ring of a “first timer”. The acting was so darn real down to the tiniest little details it was shocking. There are several memorable scenes worth watching twice. The two that come to mind are a bar scene between Alex Baldwin and Timothy Hutton where Hutton uses his ailment to torment Baldwin. The other is a virginal sex scene that is so real it made me laugh uncomfortably. Oh, and I almost forgot there’s a scene where Baldwin’s wife throws him out of the house. It was almost too real. I’m happy to see films like this are being made available and are being recognized.

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Aaron
Thu 10/22/09 8:42 PM

I only just watched “Two Lovers” last week and was really sucker punched by it. If it really is Joaquin Phoenix’s final performance, I don’t think he could have finished up with anything better. Gwyneth Paltrow and Isabella Rosellini are fantastic, too. It was very intimate and real and I was so happy to have found it (on Netflix Instant Watch, thankfully).

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J
Tue 10/27/09 12:29 AM

Yes, agreed about Two Lovers. I saw it at a tiny NYC arthouse back in April. It’s a real anti-romance in rich, profound ways that something bubblegummy like 500 Days of Summer could only scratch at. And those performances are fantastic – Elias Koteas and Vinessa Shaw, in addition to the others. In a just world Isabella Rosellini would score an Oscar nomination, if for nothing more than those heartbreaking, unspoken mother/son moments with Phoenix at the end of the film.

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Stephanie
Wed 10/28/09 4:48 PM

Moon was one of my favorites this year too. I so enjoyed how it played with the sci-fi genre, and Sam Rockwell gave a terrific performance. My friends and I have bene trying to spread the word on this one since seeing it in July.

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Alison
Thu 10/29/09 1:39 PM

Rented “Lymelife” after reading this. After doing some research I learned it was made over three weeks. My question is: how do you get such great actors and film a tremendously moving story over that period of time? It seems that movies are all made over months. Timothy Hutton should not go overlooked for his work here as the quiet, sick husband to Cynthia Nixon who endures much pain but manages to make you laugh with him. It’s like he has a secret that just he and the viewer is in on. I love Rory Culkin in this. And his brother Kieran. Brilliant casting as they have a chemistry that makes you feel like you’re sitting there with them. My only peeve is if I were Baldwin’s wife I would have thrown him out of the house long before the movie started. But the thing about this movie is that you still care about Baldwin even though he’s so self absorbed that he buys his wife his dream house for her birthday. I think the fact that he’s clueless to how much he’s hurting her makes it work. Emma Roberts really surprised me here. She can act AND well. She plays a few scenes here that show such natural ability it’s remarkable. The music rocked too. I’m sure this movie will go on to win some awards.

“Big Fan” was ok but I couldn’t relate. It looked cheap compared to “Lymelife” “Moon” was boring. “500 Days Of Summer” was WONDERFUL! See it!

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RobertZ
Fri 02/05/10 6:49 PM

Loved “Big Fan” and am getting “Lymelife” as soon as possible. Thanks for this post. There really is nothing better than feeling like you’ve discovered a little gem that no one has heard of and then shouting to the roof tops to let people know how great it is! It’s kinda’ like broadening peoples horizons and giving the little guy a shot at greatness. I watch a ton of non-mainstream-ish films so it’s hard to pick favorites but off the top of my head I’ll go with “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh” and “Interview”. Guess I have Sienna on the brain.

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Mon 04/02/12 9:12 PM

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