Skip to main content

Dome Pondering Movie Review: Big Fan (2009)

DPBigFanPoster What is it about?


Paul Aufiero, an obsessed New York Giants fan, struggles to deal with the consequences after he is assaulted by his favorite football player and hero.

Who is in it?

Patton Oswalt – Paul Aufiero

Kevin Corrigan – Sal

Michael Rapport – Philadelphia Phil



Favorite Scene:


Sal visits Paul in jail and reveals the upcoming Giants season schedule to him. After looking at the schedule and projecting the Giants season, Paul looks forward to the Patriots game because it’s the day he gets out of jail. Then claims, “it’s gonna be a great year!”.

Favorite Quote:

“It’s gonna be a great year!”

Review:

Big Fan is a film that all sports fans should put time aside to watch. A very realistic film that sheds light on the sports fan that bases his life around his sports team and the world of sports. From the screenwriter of “The Wrestler”, the film does a great job of portraying reality and the life of a devoted sports fan all while acknowledging their over-the-top mindset and humorous behavior.

Patton Oswalt is very convincing in Big Fan as “Paul”, which is somewhat similar to the character of “Spencer” he played on The King of Queens. Oswalt is absolutely believable in the role, and seems comfortable in playing the obsessed-loser hardcore Giants fan content with his life.

The only drawback is the lack of development of the surrounding characters in the plot, and the lack of depth in the overall plot. There are times where you feel like you only know the characters because they are a familiar face, rather than their name and meaning to the film. And what happened to Quantrell Bishop?

Nonetheless, Big Fan is a film is not great, but is definitely not terrible. At the 88 minute run time, it is highly relatable and recommended for the sports fan – in between the games, of course.

Grade: 1.9/5

Recently Read

Would You Rather: Questions 121-130

This edition of "Would You Rather" is credited to the NBA Would You Rather NBA Account on Instagram ( See Here ). Adding to the fun, this edition (and possibly future ones) are all NBA basketball questions.  121. Who would you rather have on your favorite NBA team - Giannis Antetokounpo or James Harden?  Seeing how I'm a lifelong suffering Knicks fan, the thought of any of these guys in blue and orange is hard to believe. With that said, I'm taking the Greek Freak for this reason - I enjoy watching him play a bit more. Nothing against Harden who is amazing as well, but at times, the ball sticks and that isn't always fun. Plus, I feel like we haven't yet seen a finished Giannis. 122. Would you rather have Giannis Antetokounpo with no driving ability or James Harden with no Three-Point shooting ability?  This is definitely a weird and unique one, but I'll take Harden. Giannis without his strength doesn't offer much. However, if Harden's d...

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 6/21/26

The Sunday Sundown Rundown (formerly in the format of "3 Up and 3 Down") is where I share thoughts on three topics that piqued my interest, along with my favorite photo from the week. Knicks Parade  I'm sure you can tell from the recent posts on this here site, I am still in the Knicks Championship thought.  NBA Champs, babbyyyyyyyyyyyy!! Nonetheless, the parade was everything any Knicks fan (new, old, and long-time suffering) could have imagined. Memorable scenes. Emotional. And unforgettable.  For me, it was Mayor Mahdani's speech that jogged us down memory lane, and more so, the visual of the NBA Cup Trophy, the Eastern Conference Trophy (Bob Cousy Trophy), and dear (elusive) Larry O'Brien sitting on a table in the NYC sun. We ran the table.  Beauftiful. UK Social Media Ban This is interesting to me. The recent ban in the UK on social media use for individuals under 16 is well...yeah, interesting. There are continued heaps of data that show the dangers of soci...

The Pondering 10 - Favorite Knicks Head Coaches

I'm still on a championship high (probably until Banner night in October to be honest), so I'm dropping more Pondering 10s as my brain (and heart) works through all of the emotions and reflection from my beloved New York Knicks - 2025-2026 NBA Champions!  Let's talk coaches.  We've been through so many. My fellow Knicks fans, we've seen so many coaches walk the sidelines of Madison Square Garden, and the recent championship is so amazing to think about - Mike Brown, one year, title.  With that said, here is a list of my favorite Knicks Coaches (in my lifetime, so no Red Holtzman). It's tougher than you think, but we're doing it.  To begin, here are those banned from this list. On the sheer qualifier that these coaches - by fault of their own, or maybe not - will always resonate with disdain and the lowest of the lows.  Derek Fisher Oh, the Phil Jackson era. When we were given a coach who had never done so before, implementing the triangle offense was more im...