Movies.ie

Movies

Gigantic

Release Date 03 Jul 2009 TBA

  • User rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.
  • Critic rating

  90% of raters want to see this movie

Certificate: 15

Genre:

Brian Weathersby is a 28 year-old salesman at a high-end Swedish mattress company. The afterthought child to elderly parents, and the youngest son in a trio of brothers, 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 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, 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.

Cast:
Zooey Deschanel | John Goodman | Edward Asner | Robert Stanton | Ian Roberts | Jane Alexander | Clarke Peters | Daniel Stewart Sherman | Zach Galifianakis | Paul Dano

Writers:
Matt Aselton | Adam Nagata

Producers:
Mindy Goldberg | Christine Vachon

Directors:
Matt Aselton

Movies.ie Critic Review

Our critics review will be added soon.

  • Avg User rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

User Reviews

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    maguirce

    Enjoyable, but a bit too quirky for my liking, some of the characters motivation didn't make sense and the blurred sense of reality wasn't dealt with fully.

    • Currently 2/5 Stars.

    dawiseguy

    BIG fan of Zooey so i picked this up on the weekend...and although it was wonderfully shot, quirky, off beat...i just didn't get it. If anyone can explain the whole homeless person thing, I'd appreciate it! **PLOT SPOLIER** also, how he manages to kill him, and then get clean away with it, especially considering he is adopting a baby?? Ok, so i know it's "just a movie" but these things perplex me!! it's all just a little bit too odd, and feels a bit unfinished for my ultimate liking. oh well!

    • Currently 1/5 Stars.

    ssconnolly

    Gigantic is the story of mattress salesman Brian Weathersby who has always wanted to adopt a Chinese baby. Then a rich, quirky woman comes into his store and falls asleep on one of the beds and Brian immediately falls for her. Brian and 'Happy' then begin an eventful and rather strange relationship. Now despite being an undeniably charming film, Gigantic is just too odd to engage and ultimately it never lives up to it's potential. There is a lot to take in with a rather complex story and the subplot which involves Brian being stalked by a homeless man is completely pointless and incomprehensible. If you hated the film but understood the bizarre subplot then this is an achievement you can take solace in. It never fits into the film's general style and it made the film unbearably confusing. While a certain quirkiness can work very well, as seen with the likes of Little Miss Sunshine and Juno this one really upped the anti but took it a step too far and the film soon began to seem quite pretentious. I looked forward to this film for a while due mainly to the exceptional cast it had acquired and although they were all great their characters were not accessible or even likable in the slightest. Zooey Deschanel is one of my favourite actresses and she was phenomenal in (500) Days of Summer but with this script she didn't get a chance to show what she is capable of. I also expected a lot from Paul Dano after his brilliant turn in There Will Be Blood but he also failed to make a huge impact. It was great to see Joh Goodman and Zach Galifianakis before he hit it big in The Hangover but they too fell victim to the dreadful script. The films direction is a bit hit and miss. I mean he seemed to have no idea how to direct his cast and I'm not sure if evem they fully understood it but visually the film is magnificent. The scenes are beautifully shot and director Matt Aselton seems to opt for the spectacular and this made the film a bit more impressive. So all in all even though the film is visually magnificent it doesn't come close to making up for the films much more predominant problems. Director Aselton has shown with this film that although he has potential he has to start tackling stories which are a bit less complicated. He completely failed to explain why the homeless man was in the film and why he was following Brian and I was so confused by this during the film that I found it impossible to enjoy it. The cast were great but ultimately couldn't make sense of the confusing script and this added to my personal disappointment. Basically although the film looks wonderfully original and unique and funny it never lives up to it's potential and the moments of beauty never make up for the films biggest problem and ultimately what happens is you are subjected to an unbearable film.

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    beansy

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    SINEAD

    Wonderfully quirky. Disappointing ending.

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    Jenfiction

    The acting is great. I enjoyed it. It was entertaining but a little slow and not enough focus on the actual interesting characters. Definitely worth a watch.

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    TheAngelicDiablo

    Surreal and somewhat absurd comedy that tries way to hard to be indie and suffers as a result.

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    emer

    "Gigantic" is a feature filmmaking debut for director Matt Aselton and I enjoyed it. I thought it was intelligent, offbeat, and a real quirky little gem!! I would recommend it to friends of my own age but i would stress that it is not a spectacular movie with a huge cast. It's just a pleasant few hours of escapism and very easy to watch. I liked the simple, yet unusual storyline but i'm still confused as to where the title came from - maybe i'm just stupid!! The main character is Brian, who sells mattresses in an old Gotham warehouse. Brian has always felt like a bit of a misfit. He is highly embarrassed by having a mom and dad (Ed Asner and Jane Alexander) that look like his grandparents, and intimidated by his two successful, ambitious older brothers: a doctor and an unscrupulous oil man. Brian’s main goal in life is to adopt a Chinese baby, and he has applied to an agency to help him find one. His Dad remembers Brian's eighth birthday, and he was disappointed even then that he didn't get a Chinese baby! Obviously as a single man under the age of thirty, he's not the ideal candidate to make that lifelong obsession a reality but having put his name on three waiting lists, he's eager to start building his own family. Perhaps that wish stems from the fact that his only family has left him disappointed and unfulfilled. He is the youngest and least successful son of a father who'd had him when he was 52. Adoptive single parenthood seems to be his attempt to find a foundation and a direction in life. He wants the ideal family but in truth, is there such a thing? I think there is a hidden message here…..families are all different - each has its own idiosyncracies. Sometimes they help, sometimes they annoy, sometimes they get in the way….but at the end of the day, you only get one family and in most cases they do love you. Brian is definitely a very interesting character, a meek, sensitive guy who has more bravery than he shows a lot of the time and is very well aware of his journey in life. He's about to be a man with responsibilities and deep down he's well aware of this fact. One day, a portly, bossy man - Al Lolly (John Goodman) rolls in, ready to pick out the most expensive bed on the floor. Goodman plays his best role in ages as art collector Al Lolly who brings a certain charm to the loud, sharp-tongued big man, indulging his daughter’s every whim. From this point, the movie turns into a fragile love story between Brian and Al’s attractive daughter Harriet (Zooey Deschanel) who visits the warehouse where Brian works and initiates an affair. Brian and Happy start seeing each other after Brian helps deliver her father’s mattress to their house. Despite the real name of Harriet, she is routinely called "Happy" and aptly brightens Brian's day. She’s a sweet lost soul, a spoiled daddy’s girl who’s had five careers in five years and never settles on anything, but Brian is smitten. She exudes an appealing openess, freshness and unpredictability. We can't help but like her beaming character. While, despite the fact that on the surface, they couldn't be more different (for example, Happy reads ads instead of articles and moves from one passion to the next in contrast to Brian's elusive quest for stability in his life in becoming a father) in a weird way their relationship works and they click. The only obstacles to stand in their way are their bizarre families!! The relationship between Brian and Happy is working out nicely until Brian gets approved for an adoption. As soon as the reality of that hits Happy, she freaks out and trys everything in her power to avoid the situation.. When she confronts Brian, he already has a beautiful little girl from China and she meets his family. He is now about to be a man with responsibilities. While her bizarre tendencies fit right in with the Weathersby clan, we're left wondering if the relationship will work out in the end. While not earthshattering, this film was enjoyable and entertaining. It is a funny, surreal love story about the anxiety that comes when two people with crazy families collide unexpectedly and fall for each other. It is a straightforward, easy to follow movie with a multi-dimensional romantic subplot. The bond between the 2 lead characters, while amusing, is thoroughly believable. I would highly recommend that you go out and see this witty, offbeat comedy. It will brighten up your day :)