70
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayBecause the audience isn’t privy to the hero’s thoughts, the final 15 minutes or so of Big Fan are white-knuckle.
- 80Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearUnlike "The Wrestler," which Siegel scripted, Big Fan has a way of making a socially marginal figure seem oddly charismatic without stacking the sympathy deck.
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisA spasmodically funny and bleak film about the love that speaks its name.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversComedian 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.
- 75PremierePremiereThere are some very funny parts but this isn’t a typical sports comedy.
- 75Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaSiegel, 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.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterIt's an unsettling, "Taxi Driver"-like character study that shows the underside to hero worship and the primal world of professional football.
- 70VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyIt'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.
- 60Film ThreatFilm ThreatComes across as a little uneven, but far from unsatisfactory. Patton Oswalt is sympathetic (at times heart breaking) and makes the film completely worth watching.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceIt takes considerable effort to make Darren Aronofsky seem like a model of restraint, but Robert Siegel pulls it off in Big Fan.