Big is the story of a twelve-year-old boy, Josh [1], who asks a wishing machine at the county fair to make him bigger. He wakes up the next day to discover that he's now a man in his thirties (and played by Tom Hanks). When his mom finds him in the house she chases him away, believing him to be an intruder. He is then forced to rapidly adjust to life as an adult, including renting his own apartment and getting a job. While being an adult opens up new opportunities for him, he's ultimately not ready to abandon his childhood so he starts trying to find the wishing machine so he can wish himself back.
My verdict: I expected this movie to be a goofy comedy. It wasn't, exactly, but it was still disappointing. There were some funny parts, but mostly it was just whimsical, not humorous or goofy. The way Josh gets promoted at work and the way he gets the girl aren't handled poorly enough to be good comedy or well enough to be believable drama. Sometimes I felt like Tom Hanks was overacting—kids don't act that way, but adults pretending to be kids do. There are also some situations that the script writers obviously didn't think all the way through.[2] It's possible I would've liked this movie had I seen it as a kid, but I definitely didn't as an adult. That said, even though this movie is PG, there is one scene that is definitely not appropriate for children. There is also some very strong profanity that wouldn't make it into a modern PG film.
Notes:
[1] The young version of (Tom Hanks) is incredibly unpleasant to look at. I'm surprised they cast him.
[2] For example, once Josh figured out how the machine worked, why didn't he use it for more than just becoming a kid again? And once Susan realized she'd been sleeping with a twelve-year-old boy, why didn't she freak out at the morally reprehensible thing she'd done?
My verdict: I expected this movie to be a goofy comedy. It wasn't, exactly, but it was still disappointing. There were some funny parts, but mostly it was just whimsical, not humorous or goofy. The way Josh gets promoted at work and the way he gets the girl aren't handled poorly enough to be good comedy or well enough to be believable drama. Sometimes I felt like Tom Hanks was overacting—kids don't act that way, but adults pretending to be kids do. There are also some situations that the script writers obviously didn't think all the way through.[2] It's possible I would've liked this movie had I seen it as a kid, but I definitely didn't as an adult. That said, even though this movie is PG, there is one scene that is definitely not appropriate for children. There is also some very strong profanity that wouldn't make it into a modern PG film.
Notes:
[1] The young version of (Tom Hanks) is incredibly unpleasant to look at. I'm surprised they cast him.
[2] For example, once Josh figured out how the machine worked, why didn't he use it for more than just becoming a kid again? And once Susan realized she'd been sleeping with a twelve-year-old boy, why didn't she freak out at the morally reprehensible thing she'd done?
Watching the movie once was enough. When I see the title, I tend to remember it enough and its soft humor that I don't have the urge to watch it again.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it is funnier when you're younger, but it's still too long.