The Gods of Filmmaking is not affiliated with any of the celebrities.  If you would like to try to contact them try here

The Fan (1996)

Starring Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, and Benicio Del Toro.  Cinematography by Dariusz Wolski.  Edited by Claire Simpson and Christian Wagner.  Produced by Wendy Finerman. Written by Phoef Sutton. Directed by Tony Scott.

Bobby Rayburn (played by Wesley Snipes), one of the hottest young baseball players in the league, has just signed an incredible forty million dollar contract with the San Francisco Giants. His only problem is that his teammate Juan Primo (played by Benicio Del Toro) is wearing his lucky number eleven and won’t give it up for the world. Rayburn slowly slips into a slump.

Gil Renard (played by Robert De Niro) is having a slump of his own.  He has just lost his job as a knife salesman and his wife (played by Patti D’Arbanville-Quinn) has taken out a restraining order against him. But Gil finds solace in baseball and it thrilled about his team’s new acquisition.

He hears about Rayburn’s lost lucky number and takes it upon himself to convince Primo to hand it over.  When conversation goes south Renard produces some of his leftover inventory and stabs Primo to death.  Renard continues to push himself on Rayburn until he eventually puts his family in danger.

Robert De Niro has played a variety of roles over the course of his incredible career, but he will most likely be best remembered for his ability to effectively portray the criminally insane. In Taxi Driver De Niro plays Travis Bickle, a lonely man who continually fails at social interaction until he finally snaps.  In Cape Fear he plays Max Cady, an ex-convict who’s only thought is that of revenge. In The King of Comedy he plays Rupert Pupkin, a struggling comic who will do anything for some airtime. And wasn’t he a stalker in some baseball movie too? 

The Fan will undoubtedly just become an afterthought when fans and critics discuss De Niro’s characterizations in the years to come.  All of the elements of his previous triumphs are present, but with none of the depth to back it up. Instead of becoming the monster he is capable of, he comes off as more of an uninteresting nuisance that spurts profanity and sells knives.

The Fan is based on the novel by Peter Abrahams and was written for the screen by Phoef Sutton; a writer best known for his work on television series’ like “Cheers” and “Newhart”. Frank Darabont did some anonymous work on the script as well, though he has been quoted as saying that only one line of his dialog has been kept. Director Tony Scott has been involved in some incredible movies over his career, but The Fan is one of his least impressive.

It’s not a complete failure, but there’s really nothing in the film to warrant a second viewing. As always his direction is tight and the film is energized by his highly charged style, but the flat characters ultimately kill the story. I wouldn’t make a special trip to the video store to find The Fan, but if it’s on cable one night you might want to give it a look.

Budget: $55,000,000

Total US Gross: $18,582,965

Genre: Thriller

Runtime: 116 Minutes

US Release Date: 8/16/96

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Awards: none

Tagline: Fear Strikes.

Quote: “Don't you talk back to me!  You show me some respect! Without people like me, you're nothing!  We're the ones that get you your forty fucking million!”