Is the upcoming Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel film, “Gigantic” the “Go-Getter” of 2009? I.e. a winning, auspicious and deserving little indie that’s unfortunately being ignored and practically dumped into theaters (one screen in New York at the little Village East) next weekend on April 3 (limited release too).
It probably does not help that First Independent/Epoch Films are small and probably don’t have the juice or muscle to promote with large-awareness fervor (and the fact that it’s only on one New York screen basically proves this), but we’ve lot a read a lot of critics online and on Twitter that have dismissed the film. Meanwhile, it’s probably about 10,000 times better than your average romantic comedy.
It probably doesn’t help that the film actually isn’t a romantic comedy and is actually a lot harder to pin down as it’s a family drama and quasi-relationship story and also features a semi-surreal-ish subplot about a homeless man following the protagonist. But there’s a reason why the film was accepted to the Toronto International Film Festival and boasts such an excellent cast and yet was presumably made for no money (not to mention Dano went to bat for the film and executive-produced it): the quality writing is sharp, fresh and the characters are vibrant and unique. But it’s also elliptical and not 0n-the-nose. There’s tons of eccentric ambiguities to it which we really, really appreciated. It’s almost like the rhythm of a wandering ’70s films within the framework of a family dramedy. Actors appreciate not having to deliver the same swill over and over again and this is why many of them signed on to this film for peanuts.
Directed by first-time feature filmmaker, Matt Aselton (one to watch) the film features a terrifically overbearing John Goodman (his best in ages, possibly “The Big Lebowski”) , Clarke Peters (from “The Wire”) Zach Galifianakis, a riotously good Ed Asner, Jane Alexander, and a stand-out performance by Ian Roberts (“Step Brothers” and “Talladega Nights”) as Dano’s obnoxious Red State-like older brother.
Superficial readings of the film will lump it under “quirky romantic comedy,” and while there are external traces of the traits, the charming picture features a three-dimensional humanity to it that elevates it beyond a simple fun, and traditional indie rom-com.
Here’s what we wrote about it when we saw it at TIFF last year, “As much as its a love story, superficially, it’s more of a film about family and connections that’s written and directed in a sublimely artful manner that refuses to dumb down or give easy explanations to the audience. It has its ‘loopiness,’ but an highly fresh one and one that’s never obnoxious. By the end, we (I) had a grin stretched ear to ear — it was so damn enjoyable, and charming, but not light and goofy like some indie quirk extravaganzas. This one had emotional weight to anchor its humorous buoyancy and fanciful air that was never compressed and full of life. Tremendously enjoyable.”
Here’s the official synopsis: Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) is a 28 year-old salesman at a high-end Swedish mattress company. The afterthought child to elderly parents (Ed Asner, Jane Alexander), and the youngest son in a trio of successful brothers, a shady oil man (Ian Roberts), a surgeon (Robert Stanton), Brian is searching for his place in the world. Unfulfilled by his work he spends a good portion of his day pursuing his goal of someday adopting a baby from China. He gets swept up in a romance with the lovely but misguided Harriet Lolly (Zooey Deschanel) when she comes in to his store one day and falls asleep on one of the beds. To win her over, he must compete with her bear of a father, Al Lolly, (John Goodman) an art-collecting loudmouth with a bad back and deep pockets. “Gigantic” is a funny, surreal love story about the anxiety that comes when two people with crazy families collide unexpectedly and fall for each other.
Here’s some clips of the film, but again, remember if it looks quirky, well there’s just a lot more humanity to it than that. We also posted the trailer a few weeks ago which you can watch here. The film is also wonderfully scored by ex-Faith No More/ current Imperial Teen frontman Roddy Bottum. All the songs used in the film, including ones by Animal Collective and Edith Frost, are listed here. Again, “Gigantic” comes out in limited release on April 3. Hopefully it will expand some time after that.