Big (1988)

[StevePulaski]

Big (1988)
Directed by: Penny Marshall

Tom Hanks gets "big" in Big.

Rating: ★★
NOTE: This film was recommended to me by Kimberly Winters Gautier for the "Steve Pulaski Sees It."

If there's one genre of films that has never particularly done much for me, it's the "body swapping" genre of films, and while Penny Marshall's Big takes a creative new spin on the genre, it still can't overcome its pretty uninteresting concept. The film revolves around a thirteen-year-old named Josh Baskin (David Moscow), who lives in New York with his parents who decide to visit the local carnival one day. After trying to impress a schoolgirl with his bravery by going on a rollercoaster and subsequently being shooed away because he isn't of adequate height, Josh uses a fortune teller machine to wish he was bigger.

The next morning, Josh wakes up a thirty-five-year-old man and utterly horrified by his growth spurt. He quickly darts out of his home after his mother mistakes him for a burglar, and knowing he can't go home and explain the situation to his mother, he calls on his best friend Billy (Jared Rushton) to assist him in his new adult adventures. Before long, Josh goes to work for a toy company, using his own prior knowledge as to what kids enjoy in order to become a successful employee at the company. He also winds up developing a crush on his coworker Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins) over time, despite her not knowing his unbelievable secret.

Adult Josh is played by a very young Tom Hanks in what is often considered his breakout role, and to his credit, Hanks is a commendable, charismatic presence all the way through Big. His role requires a boatload of energy and charm, which he has no problem delivering, and his cheery smile is enough to warrant at least some pleasure in this film. The problem with Big, despite its wholesomeness and its innocuous premise, is that it's simply not a very interesting film and it all starts with its bogus storyline. For one, we never really get an explanation of whether or not Josh is functioning with the mind of a thirteen-year-old in a thirty-five-year-old body or if he has a thirty-five-year-old mind in a thirty-five-year-old's body. Right there, it sets up a conflict of interest based around the character since we're not entirely sure on what wavelength he is operating.

Second of all, the humor in the film is not particularly funny. Isolated scenes like the famous rendition of "Chopsticks" on a life-sized piano are fun, but little in the film is humorous or very memorable because of its situational comedy. When a film tackles a premise like this, there should at least be some kind of consistent humor coming from the plot, but all there seems to be a string of ironic, coincidental, or predictable sequences involving the bizarre concept of a thirteen-year-old inheriting the body of an adult (in a screenplay written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg, the sister of Steven Spielberg).

It's that and the film's general predictability that wore on me; when the relationship between Josh and Susan begins to brew, the film almost effectively abandons any attempt at being funny to take a more romantic route. Right there, we have three genres - fantasy, comedy, and romance - that all feel like they're being handled in a half-baked manner that lacks any kind of narrative conviction. While Big may have spirit and a talented cast of talents - its leading performer going on to earn Oscar nominations and being regarded as one of the finest American actors working today - it lacks the kind of humor that its premise so readily demands and settles on being simple, basic cable entertainment.

Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Jared Rushton, and David Moscow. Directed by: Penny Marshall.