Gigantic

Every now and then I watch a movie that just clicks.  This was one of them.  I really liked it.  First of all, it stars Zooey Deschanel.  She is the perfect super-cute, super-desirable girl for a romantic comedy.  (Same thing in (500) Days of Summer.  Like I said in that review, she will always be Trillian to me.)  Gigantic is definitely a romantic comedy, but so much better than the typical release in that genre.  Release?  Was this movie even released?  According to IMDB, it only played in a handful of theaters.  I guess it's not mainstream and stupid enough for the mass markets.

Brian (Paul Dano) has a boring job selling mattresses.  His dad and much older brothers are successful in their fields, but he doesn't have much passion for work.  He does have a passion for adopting a child from China, even though he's a single man in his 20s.  Then Happy (Deschanel) comes in to pick up a bed for her dad (John Goodman).  They chat, she falls asleep on a display bed, Brian falls in love.  They go through the typical "he gets the girl, loses the girl, maybe gets the girl" romantic comedy relationship curve, but the movie as a whole is good enough that I can forgive that. 

My favorite scene has Brian and his brothers hunting mushrooms in the woods with their dad, charmingly played by Ed Asner.  The conversation turns to Brian's hopes for adopting a child.  His dad offers some encouraging words: "I hope you get the kid. .. .. I think you'd be great at it.  You've got what it takes."  Brian asks, "What does it take?"  After a pause, Dad responds, "Well. .. . I haven't the foggiest idea to be truthful.  But, uh, uh listen.  Here we are, walking together in the woods, and if you can aspire to be walking in the woods with your kids after they've made it as far as we've made it then I think you've done the right thing."  I know there's a lot more to parenting than that, but I love this advice. 

On the negative side, the happy couple starts having sex immediately upon the acknowledgement of their feelings for each other.  It almost seems like people who make movies today can come up with no other way for couples to show their affection for one another.

All in all, this was a terrific movie.  The positive view of adoption, the lovable characters, the not-as-formulaic-as-most-romantic-comedies romance, and the quirky, hilarious dads made this one fun.  I recommend it.

Bottom line, 3 1/2 stars.