And I'm back with another entry into the Blind Spot Challenge, hosted by Sofia at Returning Videotapes. If you want to see what others are doing for their challenges, check out her site. Just make sure you read what's below. Let's just get to it.
Why did I pick it? I have two main reasons. The first is identical to the one I gave for finally watching The Princess Bride. I wanted to see what all the hype was about a movie I had no interest in seeing back when it came out. I was seventeen and thought I was too cool for some dorky movie where the guy from Bachelor Party dances on a giant piano. My other reason might be a bit more relevant to you, or at least more current. As of the time of this writing, a loose, kinda-sorta remake called Little has hit theaters in recent weeks. If you’re unaware of it, just know that the protagonist is gender, age, and race-swapped. I will see it sometime soon, but I wanted to see this version first. As a side note, it’s also a nod to the film’s director, the recently deceased Penny Marshall.
Marshall’s version starts with thirteen-year-old Josh (David Moscow) playing computer games (at a time when only the nerdiest kids did so), hanging out with his best friend Billy (Jared Rushton), and working very hard to impress the more sophisticated Cynthia (Kimberlee M. Davis). Failing miserably, even though she’s rather nice about it, Josh finds himself alone at a carnival, in front of a wish granting machine called Zoltar. Since Cynthia likes older guys, it only makes sense that Josh wishes to be “big.” Zoltar tells him his wish has been granted. He’s a bit startled by the fact the machine isn’t plugged in, but doesn’t make too much of it until he wakes up the next morning in the body of the guy from Bosom Buddies. Billy is the only person Josh is able to convince of what happened. With Billy’s help, he tries to find the machine, but the entire carnival is gone. Realizing that getting back to his original body is going to take a while, Josh goes about the business of trying to live like an adult. Luckily for him, he finds an office job with a toy company. Hijinks and shenanigans ensue.
Having already seen another gender swapped re-imagining, 13 Going on 30 (2004), this movie hits all the beats I knew it would. However, even if I had never seen that Big would still be rather predictable. It sets up its story in a way that makes it easy to tell what the next logical step is and then takes it. What elevates it above these constraints is the performance of Tom Hanks as “adult” Josh. It is something to see him start off filled with childlike wonder and slowly lose that spark as the film progresses. We can feel the weight of adulthood sinking onto his shoulders. Simultaneously, we see him learn and experience things that he might not be ready for. Josh shares an inverse relationship with Susan, played wonderfully by Elizabeth Perkins. She is the film’s love interest. Her character arc is much like Josh’s but moving in the opposite direction. The chemistry Perkins shares with Hanks feels a bit off early on, perhaps by design, but improves throughout. By the end of the film she’s been taught as big a lesson as Josh.
While Perkins does admirable work, and Hanks received his first Oscar nomination, the film’s best performance belongs to Robert Loggia as Mr. MacMillan, the big boss at the toy company. Whenever he shows up you can instantly feel every single day of every year of wear and tear on this guy’s entire being. He’s been around the block more than a few times and is at his wit’s end trying to keep up with a changing market with an increasingly robotic staff. They emotionlessly crunch numbers and spit out lifeless products. Loggia’s performance conveys this in such a way that he becomes the glue that keeps Big from falling to pieces. More than anyone else in the film, he makes us understand what a breath of fresh air Josh is. Therefore, we don’t mind the ridiculous, and fast, good fortune that comes Josh’s way. Loggia’s weariness and longing for a simpler time is what makes the aforementioned piano scene so iconic. Hanks is merely doing what he was known for back then, being a silly man-child. The sheer joy emanating from Loggia feels so genuine it overwhelms us with the warm and fuzzies.
As you can tell, what’s on the screen works. Unfortunately, I spent a large chunk of the runtime wondering what I wasn’t seeing. Immediately after young Josh transforms into Uncle Ned, we’re treated to a scene of his mother rightfully flipping out, believing him to be some creep who kidnapped her son. Shortly after, we get a scene of her talking to the cops. Beyond this we get almost nothing on the front. Mom (Mercedes Ruehl) shows up once in a while to remind us of her existence, but we never get the sense she’s actually looking for her missing child. She simply mopes around for a minute or two and disappears. I get that devoting more time to her could potentially make Big a much heavier film. Not including her more, however, makes it feel like it’s missing some important information. Only the carefree half of the story is told. The darker half is omitted to maintain a lighthearted tone.
Don’t get me wrong. This is a very enjoyable movie that breezes by on the strength of its cast. We can’t help but get caught up in Josh’s exploration of the adult world. Hanks ropes us in and makes sure we fall in love with his character. Excellent portrayals by Robert Loggia and Elizabeth Perkins take us further down that road. However, the road less traveled really does make all the difference. Choosing that fork might have improved Big from good to great.
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