They sure made a few of these kind of movies back in the late 1980s, didn't they? Even one with George Burns moving into a younger body! I guess Big and the one with Kirk Cameron and Dudley Moore were the only two I actually saw. Big is certainly a cut above that film, but with this gimmick as your main storyline, there is definitely a ceiling for just how good your movie can be. Tom Hanks plays Josh Baskin, a young man teetering on the edge of puberty who makes a wish that he simply become "big". He does this to some sort of oddball carnival game that tells him "his wish has been granted". Strange, because the kid looks down and notices that the machine was not even plugged in. The next morning, Josh Baskin wakes up as Tom Hanks, and we are off and running.
Big is generally a funny film. Hanks does very well trying to imitate the mannerisms of a twelve year old boy, and his antics make for some rather funny and amusing situations. Of course he and his buddy set out to find the machine, which has conveniently been removed to another location, so they can switch him back to his old self. This being back in the 80s, it was apparently a large-scale ordeal to track a carnival machine as you could not simply look it up on the internet or any other useful solution that could wrap things up quickly. Hanks and his little pal learn they will not be able to find the machine for several weeks. Hanks will thus be forced to find a job and live as an adult until that information can be mailed to them. Sound ridiculous? Of course it does, but in any logical world we couldn't have this plot anyway. Hanks ends up getting a job at a toy firm where his childish perspective on what makes a fun toy has him quickly moving up the corporate ladder. He even endears himself to the owner played quite well by the ever-reliable Robert Loggia. Complications, and some genuine laughs occur, when Hanks begins to strike up a relationship with a female exec at the company played by Liz Perkins. Initially it is quite funny to see her come onto him, and he being just a child having no clue how to respond. Then Hanks seems to hit puberty, and the film veers off in a mostly serious direction, and the last 20 minutes or so just aren't funny or satisfying.
If they had maybe just kept things lighter in terms of tone and plot, this could have been a better film. It certainly is not a bad one, but a re-write or two could have helped it. Its just a little off-putting seeing Hanks awkwardly touch Perkins's breast for the first time. Just kind of creepy thinking a boy that mentally young would have his first experience with an adult woman who clearly wants to jump his bones. You'd think a boy in his shoes would have done everything he could to explain to his mother where he was, and what happened. But when you have a plot like this, reasonable action couldn't coincide. Big is a decent film. And some scenes are classic. One day, an old person like Robert Osborne is going to refer to the dancing piano scene as "movie magic". And he will be right. 6 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
Big is generally a funny film. Hanks does very well trying to imitate the mannerisms of a twelve year old boy, and his antics make for some rather funny and amusing situations. Of course he and his buddy set out to find the machine, which has conveniently been removed to another location, so they can switch him back to his old self. This being back in the 80s, it was apparently a large-scale ordeal to track a carnival machine as you could not simply look it up on the internet or any other useful solution that could wrap things up quickly. Hanks and his little pal learn they will not be able to find the machine for several weeks. Hanks will thus be forced to find a job and live as an adult until that information can be mailed to them. Sound ridiculous? Of course it does, but in any logical world we couldn't have this plot anyway. Hanks ends up getting a job at a toy firm where his childish perspective on what makes a fun toy has him quickly moving up the corporate ladder. He even endears himself to the owner played quite well by the ever-reliable Robert Loggia. Complications, and some genuine laughs occur, when Hanks begins to strike up a relationship with a female exec at the company played by Liz Perkins. Initially it is quite funny to see her come onto him, and he being just a child having no clue how to respond. Then Hanks seems to hit puberty, and the film veers off in a mostly serious direction, and the last 20 minutes or so just aren't funny or satisfying.
If they had maybe just kept things lighter in terms of tone and plot, this could have been a better film. It certainly is not a bad one, but a re-write or two could have helped it. Its just a little off-putting seeing Hanks awkwardly touch Perkins's breast for the first time. Just kind of creepy thinking a boy that mentally young would have his first experience with an adult woman who clearly wants to jump his bones. You'd think a boy in his shoes would have done everything he could to explain to his mother where he was, and what happened. But when you have a plot like this, reasonable action couldn't coincide. Big is a decent film. And some scenes are classic. One day, an old person like Robert Osborne is going to refer to the dancing piano scene as "movie magic". And he will be right. 6 of 10 stars.
The Hound.