The Fan (1996) De Niro Snipes Review

The Fan movie with Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes is a twisted and depressing psychological thriller, but the unbelievable plot and script is too Hollywoodized to take seriously as a classic 1990's movie, or to be on De Niro's resume.

The good news is that De Niro portrays the loud mouthed obnoxious fan that sits in front of you at sporting events to a tee. He's also divorced, an aggressive dad, and a disgruntled salesman who eventually gets fired. He's a washed up Little League pitcher who never made it, but can't let go. He's addicted to sports talk radio and the San Fransisco Giants.

Wesley Snipes' character Bobby Rayburn is Barry Bonds (although for legal reasons he says he isn't Barry Bonds in the movie). Bobby Rayburn is a high-priced free agent with a chip on his shoulder.

I would say the first half of the movie had the potential for The Fan to be right up there with Michael Douglas's Falling Down (1993) but the plot jumps the shark due to the fantastic (unbelievable) elements of the script such as De Niro's character Gil killing Juan Primo is a sauna and kidnapping Bobby Rayburn's son Shawn, or Gil impersonating a MLB umpire.

However, don't let the plot detract from your enjoyment- this is a popcorn thriller and you have to watch it through the end if you start. This is not a traditional baseball movie at all- it's a psycho movie. It's a weird film in which you see the signs that Gil was always crazy. It's tough to sympathize with Gil or Bobby Rayburn- both De Niro and Snipes play heels in this one.

Still, a great performance by De Niro- it's just the script that jumps the shark. Welcome to 1996.

2.5/5 stars- adults only.


The Fan