Gigantic

Obscure & totally dysfunctional - loved it.
What a great little film. An irrational "love" story filled with the single most dysfunctional group of dorks I have ever enjoyed watching. Two obscure performances from Ed Asner and the mute Zach Galifianakis underscore the boldest roles for Zooey and Paul Dano I have seen outside of their mainstream stuff.

It is difficult to explain as I found it hard to classify this a comedy, but the laugh out loud moments of excellent writing were numerous and placed just right. The story follows two young lovers as they traverse their "jobs", un-describable families, and each of their respective dysfunctions. Along the way we are subjected to Galifianakis' homeless stalker, Ed Asner's bizarre dad insight, and a Japanese spa scene that if described, would not allow this review to get posted (do not remember seeing anything like that on film before).

The filming is unique, the 5.1 is decent and picture quality is good. The special features are sparse but contain one of the...

A Charming, Low-Key Film
Gigantic is another independent romantic-comedy starring Zooey Deschanel. Like other films of this sort that she's starred in, it's not your typical, everything-turns-out-fine, big box-office take romantic-comedy. Instead, it's a subtle, quirky film with whimsical characters that is hardly the first of it's kind, but is still a unique little movie.

Paul Dano (also the executive producer) is a mopey, 28-year-old mattress salesmen named Brian who's in the process of adopting a Chinese baby. One day, Al Lolly (John Goodman), a successful, loud-mouthed man with back problems comes in and buys a mattress. His daughter Happy (Deschanel) comes in to take care of the financial aspects and ends up falling asleep on one of the bed's.

Ed Asner co-stars as Brian's elderly father, while Zach Galifianakis (a recent scene-stealer in The Hangover) plays a mysterious, mute homeless man.

What is instantly striking is the unique characters and the subtle things that make...

Curve Balls
"Gigantic" offers a mix of experiences. From the opening credit where the title is in a small font, one knows that this is a film that throws curve balls. One never quite knows what to expect. Paul Dano who was so good in "Little Miss Sunshine" and "There Will Be Blood" also produced. He turns in a subtle performance as Brian Weathersby who sells mattresses and works to secure his life-long dream of becoming an adoptive parent to a Chinese child. A complication arises as he meets Harriet "Happy" Lolly played by Zooey Deschanel. Shopping for a mattress, she falls asleep on the bed. From there a friendship and unusual romance develops. Ed Asner has a nice cameo as Brian's father. Jane Alexander turns in an excellent cameo performance as Brian's mother. John Goodman is blustery and eccentric as Harriet's father. The performances are all first rate. Enjoy!

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