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Gigantic (2008)
Director: Matt Aselton
Movie review
From Time Out London
If you find that the romantic woes of artsy, middle-class white kids are beginning to lose their lustre, it’s probably best to avoid ‘Gigantic’, a film so quirkily self-aware it might as well have ‘Property of Sundance Film Festival’ stencilled on to every frame. It’s not that writer-director Matt Aselton’s film lacks charm or insight. It’s just that the issues which preoccupy him – urban ennui, guilty lust, impossible love, shambolic indie rock – also fascinate just about every other white American twentysomething with a camera.Paul Dano is agreeably awkward as directionless bed salesman Brian Weathersby, whose plan to adopt a Chinese orphan is put on hold when he meets Zooey Deschanel’s sexually aggressive Happy, while John Goodman amply fills the big-name-in-flashy- -character-role requirement as her overbearing father. ‘Gigantic’ is a film that succeeds by wearing the viewer down, as an infuriatingly coy, self-conscious first act gives way to a sweet and affecting climax. So while Aselton has nothing new to offer, he still manages to raise the occasional sympathetic smile.
Author: Tom Huddleston
Time Out London issue 2026, June 18 - 24, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- Phil said...
- Posted on Mar 07 2011 11:06 Avoid at all costs. Unfathomable plot and many questions unanswered. if anyone can work this one out, post it here! Only mildly bearable because of the delightful Zooey Deschanel.
- Report as inappropriate
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- Ian Elgie said...
- Posted on Dec 11 2009 21:57 the most unsatisfying film I've seen in ages. Plot non-existent; dialogue forced, juvenile comedy. I could go on but the film is not worth further time on further comments.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Matt Aselton
Cast: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Ed Asner, Jane Alexander full cast
Rated: 15
Duration: 98 mins
UK Release: Jun 19 2009
US Release: Apr 3 2009
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