Usually cast in supporting roles, Patton Oswalt gets the lead with 2009’s Big Fan. This one mixes his usual comedy with a darker tone.

Paul Aufiero (Oswalt) lives with his mother (Marcia Jean Kurtz) and works as a parking lot attendant. His main joy in life comes from his love for the New York Giants football team.

When Paul encounters Giants star Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) out in public, this seems like a dream come true until it all goes terribly wrong. This leaves Paul at odds with his prior sense of reality and stressed by a series of unfortunate events.

One sign that Big Fan will offer something different from the broad comedy one might expect from Oswalt: the presence of Robert Siegel as writer/director. As screenwriter, 2008’s grim sports-based character drama The Wrestler offered his best-known credit.

Siegel brings a layer of comedy to Big Fan, which doesn’t seem like a shock when you learn he previously wrote The Onion Movie, a winking flick based on the satirical “news site”. Big Fan leans dramatic at times but it avoids the depressing darkness of Wrestler.

Not that one should expect a laugh riot from Big Fan, as it remains serious much of the time. This becomes especially evident as the movie progresses.

While not a true comedy in its first act, the movie does keep things moderately light as we get to know Paul and his world. Only after the events with Bishop does the flick go down a more ominous path.

Which it pulls off moderately well, but Big Fan suffers from a lack of content necessary to fill even its modest 88-minute running time. This turns into more of a concept than a fully-fleshed out story.

We do find interesting themes of hero worship and how fans struggle to adjust when reality conflicts with those fantasies. However, the film fails to explore these notions well.

Oswalt does fine as our lead, at least. He manages to connect with the drama and not simply fall back on his comedic wheelhouse, choices that also mean Paul doesn’t wind up as a simple cartoon.

Still, Big Fan tends to come across like a short film extended to feature length. While it remains watchable, it stretches too thin and doesn't connect to its themes in a strong manner.

Big Fan appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though not a poor presentation, the image seemed surprisingly bland.

Sharpness became one of the concerns, as a lot of the movie felt oddly mushy. Close-ups brought good delineation but wider elements often came across as ill-defined and without detail.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering manifested, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws failed to mar the proceedings.

Colors tended toward a heavy orange/amber vibe as well as some blues and reds. These hues tended to seem a bit flat and without much vivacity.

Blacks leaned inky, while shadows were a little mushy. I thought the movie remained watchable but the visuals lacked the distinctiveness I expect from Blu-ray.

When it came to audio, Big Fan came only with a lossy option. This left us solely with a DTS 5.1 mix, and that meant I deducted some points since any circa 2024 Blu-ray needs lossless material.

Not that the track boasted a lot of dimensionality anyway, as it stayed with atmosphere most of the time. A forward-focused mix, it added decent involvement at clubs or streets or other outdoor locations, but the soundscape nonetheless remained pretty restrained.

Audio quality seemed fine, with speech that appeared natural and distinctive. Music showed fairly appealing range.

Though effects lacked much to do, they came across as largely accurate. Nothing here impressed and the lack of lossless audio disappointed, but the mix seemed acceptable for the story.

Zero extras appear on the Blu-ray.

While it explores an interesting subject, Big Fan lacks the substance it needs to really click. Helped by Patton Oswalt, it remains moderately entertaining but it doesn’t come with the depth it requires to flesh out a feature. The Blu-ray brings mediocre picture and audio as well as zero supplements. I didn’t mind the time I spent with the movie but it never grabbed me like I hoped it would.