Perhaps it depends on how you feel about The Wrestler. The Oscar-nominated film starring Mickey Rourke was loudly praised for Darren Aronofsky's naturalistic, Rocky-style direction and its clever take on the moral rebirth of a fallen professional wrestler. However, the script itself--written by Robert D. Siegel--received fewer accolades, primarily because of a simplistic, paint-by-numbers plot. Now Siegel's writing and directing with Big Fan, in which Patton Oswalt plays as Paul Aufiero, a nebbish, obsessive New York Giants fan. When Paul meets his favorite Giants player, Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), Bishop, in a coke-fueled rage, beats the ever-loving shit out of him. Will Paul rat out his hero, putting his favorite team's chances of going to the Super Bowl in jeopardy? The most interesting aspects of Big Fan lie in Oswalt's performance: He plays Paul with just the right mixture of pathos and creepiness. But while the idea of pro football fans being a metaphor for victims of domestic abuse is initially clever, it eventually comes off as ham-fisted--which was kind of the problem with The Wrestler, yes? by Wm. Steven Humphrey