Stream it now Gigantic 2008

 

I was so pleased to discover a film starring Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel. I quickly learned that plugging two quirky actors who rely on bewildered, cockeyed stares doesn't work all that well. I was, at times, bemused, but I was mostly bored and confused.

However, Ed Asner and John Goodman almost makes this film worth watching. Asner plays the zany paternal lead, and it is he and Jane Alexander, his onscreen wife, who teach the young ones a thing or two about acting. Goodman plays the father on the other side, and he has also contributes what might be considered entertaining skits to distract us from the rest of this mess.

Dano was brilliant in "Little Miss Sunshine", and "There Will Be Blood," and I will be a charter member of the Zooey Deschanel fan club, if one ever gets off the ground. But in "Gigantic," there similar styles too often add up to a wide screen, theater-wide coma.

Further subtracting from my enjoyment was the unresolved oddity regarding this apparent imaginary, homeless attacker. Was I supposed to figure that out all by my lonesome?

There certainly were some funny scenes, mostly involving Goodman or Asner, who never manage to share the screen together. In fact, most of the supporting cast is fine. But, while Zooey and Paul certainly have talent, and share some interesting moments, generally, when together, they are just flat out confusing and boring. And it pains me to say that.

If you can find some outtakes from this film of Goodman and Asner, that would be a good thing, especially if it means you'll get to skip this film.

First of all-I thought it was kinda creepy that Paul Dano wanted a baby when he was like 6. Also, what was up with the homeless guy? I had no idea what that was about. Maybe I'm just stupid?

This film trys way too hard to be quirky. Instead of being charming, it came across depressing. Paul Dano had no charisma whatsoever, he smiled likt once? And, Zooey Deschanel was mediocre. I've never really disliked her in a film before, but she was pushing me in this one. She was always acting high, and spoke really softly? Having weird characters doesn't make a film quirky...

Its about Bryan, played by Paul Dano. He is in the process of adopting a little chineese baby, that he has wanted forever, when he meets Happy played by Deschanel. They make a good couple, and have some chemistry, but they were just too awkward all the time to expand at all. The story was a little everywhere. And none of the characters were really likeable except for the grandpa.

Overall, this film is certainly lacking in inspiration. It may be a little too quirky for its own good. Definitely not a Rom-com, more of a Dram-com.

There's a lot to recommend here chiefly Zooey Deschanel's performance, but the story ran aground with Brian's schizophrenia. It just didn't make sense, but I guess schizophrenia's likee that.

There were some really off the wall lines in this film which made me laugh out loud! Many of the lines are so funny, inappropriate and raunchy that you'll just need to sit through the pace of the movie to hear them. One small but quirky observation which I made during the film was about John Goodman's character Al Lolly who had issues with his back and needed to always lay down in the back of an automobile, yet he sat upright in the restaurant like nothing was the matter - i like the quirkiness of it and wish they made that 'an apparent comic angle'

There are some nice moments in the little indie, but the idea of a man in his 20s obsessed with adopting a Chinese baby just doesn't sit right especially when the reasoning is never explained. The acting is great from a superb cast with John Goodman scene stealing on every occasion. Overall this tries to hard to be a quirky indie and just becomes a bit of a mess.

F.

Oh, I guess I should elaborate a little bit more even though this movie doesn't really deserve the time it'll take for me to give my input or the time it'll take you to read it.

In a nutshell, this movie is about a mattress salesman who is trying to adopt a Chinese baby and falls in love with one of his customer's daughters, all the while trying to escape a homeless man who's set out to kill him. Does this sound like a simultaneously nonsensical and uninteresting plot? Oh, that's because it IS. Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, and Zach Galifianakis (sort of) star. Typically I like Dano as an actor (Little Miss Sunshine, There will be Blood) but he seems to just mope around in this one. Maybe because it sucks to be a mattress salesman. Sucks even more to watch you be a mattress salesman. Zach Galifenla$ih%$ or whatever your name is, you're 0 for 0 in my book. I didn't like you in "The Hangover" and I didn't like you in this tremendously pointless role. I'm glad you get killed at the end of the movie. Whoops, spoiler! Except that it's not really a spoiler, because your death makes absolutely no impact in this story whatsoever. John Goodman is the only saving grace in this film by providing a few chuckles as Dano's girlfriend's father, but of course the director doesn't have the good sense to let him have more of a presence in the film. "Gigantic" hardly lives up to its title, unless you mean it as a "Gigantic" waste of a movie.

Zooey Deschanel stole every scene she was in, and she is perhaps the only saving grace to this flop of a film. I love indies, but this was in a category of its own, titled "WTF?"

People adopt and do monumental (gigantic) things with their lives every day. Who gives a shit that this guy does too? There is nothing endearing about it. No character development. He wanted a baby before the film started, and he got one. Okay, whats next?

May I suggest another take on the movie gigantic?



Suppose we thought of:



Ed Asner as the roaring twenties, 80 years old, (didn't think one should have to do menial tasks for themselves) (Mr. goodtimes)



Older brothers as the 1960 American economy, cold war (gun), back door dealing (or in bed) with Russia, Japan,Korea, black market, etc.



Brian, as the new America economy, is ok with France and the rest of the world despite it type of government, sees and wants relationship with China and its economy since he was 8 years old, (Tiananmen sq. related). Why else would we need to know when his desire to adopt began? Why else a Chinese baby?



Mai, as China and or the Chinese economy, It is a baby now but it will be GIGANTIC one day. How about the month of May, spring, new growth. Small letters in the title gigantic.



John Goodman as Wall Street,I mean literally lying horizontally with buildings passing by perpendicular, having to rid his body of a tumor, or (old notions of doing business with China and other non Democracies.)



Happy as the conduit of Wall Streets money. Remember she did the paying for Wall Street (Goodman)when buying the matress. She must form a relationship with Mai (China) through Brian (new American). She just sees ads in magazines.


Attacker as Al Qaeda, attacks with no good reason,out of the blue. Hates US economy values.



Just my take, Dennis Knutsen
earths-images.com

What the heck was this? Plot makes no sense, there are no laughs, complete garbage. What other movie were the critics watching when they rated Gigantic?

Although the chemistry between Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel is quirky and kinda fun, the character Paul Dano plays is creepy and uncomfortable. I don't know if it's the chinese baby he wants to adopt as a single parent, or the guy who's been chasing him around the entire movie, beating him up. If this guy is in his head, is he physically hurting himself? Weird but not bad.