Watch the Big Fan Trailer
Wednesday July 8, 2009
Holy cow. Last week, we got a look at the new Ricky Gervais comedy The Invention of Lying. And as much as I'm looking forward to that movie, it can't possibly compare to my excitement over Big Fan, starring my very favorite comedian Patton Oswalt.
Oswalt plays an obsessive New York Giants fan whose tendencies begin affecting the future of the team, and the movie itself looks dark and twisted and awesome. It's the directorial debut of Robert Siegel, who also wrote the script and penned last year's The Wrestler; at this rate, he's becoming the Ron Shelton of the indie world, and that's not such a bad thing. He's also a former writer for The Onion, so we know he's funny.
But what excites me most about this movie is it doesn't look very funny. Instead, it looks like Siegel has written a part specifically for Oswalt and sees things in him that other directors haven't: his obsessive geekiness (in real life it's more about comics and movies than sports, but whatever) and potential for schlubby loneliness. I'm reminded of Paul Thomas Anderson writing Punch-Drunk Love for Adam Sandler; though that movie was much heavier on whimsy, it still showed us a side of Sandler we'd never seen and remains his best movie. I think Patton Oswalt is going to surprise a lot of people with this performance, and I'm hoping it gives him some of that Bill Murray-Lost-in-Translation cred.
I'm so excited about this movie. Check out the trailer for Big Fan so you can be, too.
Big Fan is due for release on August 28, 2009.
© First Independent Pictures
Sign Up for the New Newsletter! Do It!
Tuesday July 7, 2009
Do you like TV and movies? OF COURSE YOU DO. You are a person. Well, since you DO like TV and movies, you need to sign up for our new newsletter, "Screening Room." Every week, "Screening Room" will bring you the best in TV and film from all our About.com Guides. You're going to love it!
"Screening Room" won't be replacing your weekly Guide to Comedians newsletter. That thing will still be clogging up your inbox every Monday. Do you understand what this means? TWO NEWSLETTERS!
Seriously. Sign up for "Screening Room." Stop hunting down information and let About.com take the guesswork out of life for you. You won't regret it. The first installment of "Screening Room" goes out this Thursday, July 9, so sign up now!
Sign up for "Screening Room" here.
And, if you're still not receiving the weekly Guide to Comedians newsletter, first be ashamed of yourself and then go ahead and sign up to receive that, too. It's literally brought dozens of people to the verge of laughter every week.
New Comedy Releases for Tuesday, July 7
Monday July 6, 2009
Happy belated Independence Day, everyone! I trust we all have our fingers intact, yes?
No new comedy albums this week, but we've still got an album from Doug Benson on the horizon. The latest season of Reno 911! is already hitting shelves, having just wrapped up a few weeks ago (how's that for turnaround?). That show is remarkably consistent. Look for my review of the latest season soon. Also, that new Jeff Garlin stand-up DVD was recorded in Chicago several months back and is directed by Bob Odenkirk. It's worth a look.
DVD
© Paramount
It's Official: A Comedian is in Congress
Wednesday July 1, 2009
I don't have much to say on this issue, because it's been all over 24-hour cable news punditland, but after about eight months in post-election purgatory it appears that Al Franken is finally the senator from Minnesota.
Franken, of course, is a former writer for Saturday Night Live and half of the legendary comedy team of Franken and Davis. He made friends with a gorilla in Trading Places. He would strap a satellite dish to his head during "Weekend Update" and later published funny, left-leaning political comedy books like Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (funny because it's true) and Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. He hosted The O'Franken Factor on the failed experiment that was Air America and created/starred on the failed experiment that was Lateline. Of course, most people remember Franken as his self-help character, Stuart "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough and Doggone It People Like Me" Smalley; he even got his own film, Stuart Saves His Family in 1995. As movies based on Saturday Night Live sketches go, it's not that bad. And now he is a United States senator making important decisions at one of the most critical periods in the last 30 years.
I could obviously make all kinds of jokes about the clowns in Congress, but I won't. Because now there really is a clown in Congress. From a personal and professional standpoint, I'm happy about the news. Now we'll have to see how Franken does in his new role. Will he wear his satellite dish on the floor of the Senate?
If you want to hear Franken's response to the long-awaited decision, you can check out the statement he delivered Tuesday.
Photo by Jeffrey Thompson/Getty Images
