Starring Patton Oswalt (my doppelganger, according to some at work...I don't really see it)
Directed by Robert D. Siegel
Directed by Robert D. Siegel
I'm not a football fan. I can watch a game or two a season, but I'm much more a baseball guy than football.
This is a movie about a huge football fan, plain and simple. Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt) is the typical SUPERFAN that calls in to the local sports radio station with a pre-written diatribe against his beloved Giants' rival of the moment (which, most of the time, happens to be the Philadelphia Eagles). One night, Paul and his buddy happen to see Giants player Quantrell Bishop out and about and they decide to follow him. When they finally meet at a strip club, Quantrell thinks that Paul is some type of stalker and ends up beating him up pretty badly. While the police want to press charges against Quantrell, Paul has to decide whether he wants to do that, which would ultimately bring an end (for the time being, at least) to a pivotal player on Paul's beloved team.
There's perhaps a good short film in here storywise, but there's not enough here to fill 90 minutes of film. It certainly doesn't help that every single character in this movie felt like a caricature. From Paul to his overbearing mother to his obnoxious brother to his obnoxious brother's New Joisey housewife with her overflowing bosom, everyone felt fake to me. Listen, I get that there are people like this, but not a single character felt as if they were real. Ultimately, "unreal" characters are fine if you present your film as a fantasy, but this is supposed to be a slice of reality, and real it was not.
Adding to the awful characters is some pretty poor direction. The flow between scenes was very odd at times. And since the director was also the writer, let's criticize the script now, too. The end of this film comes out of nowhere to me. Paul does something at the end of this movie that seems completely out of character and it absolutely ends the movie on an incredibly disappointing note. Not only is it out of character, but the director/writer shoots it in a way that's just an exploitative tease, rather than actually carrying any type of meaning. It was laughably bad.
The one positive from this movie is that Patton Oswalt is actually a decent actor. I'm a fan of King of Queens and I certainly like him on that show, but he certainly proved his dramatic acting skills here. Sure, the character was lacking, but Oswalt did all that he could.
This is a movie about a huge football fan, plain and simple. Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt) is the typical SUPERFAN that calls in to the local sports radio station with a pre-written diatribe against his beloved Giants' rival of the moment (which, most of the time, happens to be the Philadelphia Eagles). One night, Paul and his buddy happen to see Giants player Quantrell Bishop out and about and they decide to follow him. When they finally meet at a strip club, Quantrell thinks that Paul is some type of stalker and ends up beating him up pretty badly. While the police want to press charges against Quantrell, Paul has to decide whether he wants to do that, which would ultimately bring an end (for the time being, at least) to a pivotal player on Paul's beloved team.
There's perhaps a good short film in here storywise, but there's not enough here to fill 90 minutes of film. It certainly doesn't help that every single character in this movie felt like a caricature. From Paul to his overbearing mother to his obnoxious brother to his obnoxious brother's New Joisey housewife with her overflowing bosom, everyone felt fake to me. Listen, I get that there are people like this, but not a single character felt as if they were real. Ultimately, "unreal" characters are fine if you present your film as a fantasy, but this is supposed to be a slice of reality, and real it was not.
Adding to the awful characters is some pretty poor direction. The flow between scenes was very odd at times. And since the director was also the writer, let's criticize the script now, too. The end of this film comes out of nowhere to me. Paul does something at the end of this movie that seems completely out of character and it absolutely ends the movie on an incredibly disappointing note. Not only is it out of character, but the director/writer shoots it in a way that's just an exploitative tease, rather than actually carrying any type of meaning. It was laughably bad.
The one positive from this movie is that Patton Oswalt is actually a decent actor. I'm a fan of King of Queens and I certainly like him on that show, but he certainly proved his dramatic acting skills here. Sure, the character was lacking, but Oswalt did all that he could.
The RyMickey Rating: D
None really...just trying to insert a little of my life into the reviews...trying to make things a little more personal...
ReplyDeleteOf course, since you, Justin, and my brother (with an occasional glance from Anonymous and your mom) are the only ones reading this, over half of you would know that about me already.
It also gives anyone who happens to stumble upon it a note of perspective as to if you can relate to the movie or not.
ReplyDeleteoccasional glance? occasional glance!?
ReplyDeleteIs comment frequency the criteria on which you based this observation (read:accusation)?
I'll give you your brother as you have to share meals with him - but
JUSTIN has passed me?!
the horror.
Aww...Anonymous! I was basing it on comment frequency! You know I'd never bash you!
ReplyDelete