BIG
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
There is a moment towards the end in BIG (1988), director Penny Marshall's ode to the dichotomy between youth and maturity, when Tom Hanks looks wistfully over his old neighborhood. Although now a man in an expensive double-breasted suit, it was just weeks ago that he was a naive 13-year-old, who enjoyed the simple pleasures of childhood -- playing baseball with his buddies and having leaf fights with autumn's soon-to-be-buried treasures. In a rhetorical question, he asks himself silently whether he is willing to give up his newfound power and riches to go back to the challenges and wonderment of youth.
From the first story of the fountain of youth, authors have explored the divide between childhood and adulthood, with each having their merits. Those older wish to be younger and vice versa, the grass always being viewed as greener on the other side of the fence.
Even with this overdeveloped theme, the Academy Award nominated script by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg manages to say fresh things and to draw the viewers into a story populated by likable characters.
Although Hanks was nominated for best actor for his part, he was beaten that year by Daniel Day-Lewis in MY LEFT FOOT, the sort of sentimental, big message film that Hollywood favors. In BIG Hanks gives one of the best performances of his impressive career. Most actors would have approached the part with a heavy emphasis on slapstick and exaggerated gestures, but not Hanks. Hanks rightly sees the boy as being as frightened and awkward as he is giddily elated at the prospect of instant adulthood. His most moving scene in the show occurs as he lays alone in a NYC fleabag hotel. As the noise of the city's terrors filter into his room, he lies on the bed gently sobbing as he grips his pillow. This 13-year-old is just barely a teenager even if he now has a full-sized man's body, and Hanks's reactions to his predicament could not be more realistic or touching.
It all started because Josh, played by David Moscow when young and Hanks when full grown, was impatient. As he watched an older guy pick up the girl he dreamed of dating, he wished he were older. And when a carny machine called "Zoltar Speaks," offered him a wish, his was a simple one -- "I wish I was big." When the machine just spit out a card stating, "Your wish is granted," he was not impressed. Well, not until the next morning when he woke up in a man-sized body.
Marshall is a master at the staging of scenes. From the thud of Josh's big feet getting out of bed for the first time to the wind swept leaves of the vacant lot where the carny once was, she captures the essence of the situation with her typically parsimonious approach. Avoiding frequent opportunities for special effects, she relies instead on the actors and the dialog to tell the story. When the inevitable scene occurs in which the full grown Josh reverts back to his teenage body, she cuts away from a rear view of Tom Hanks back and then returns to David Moscow, who is seen walking away in a suit several sizes too large.
In a story with more depth than might be expected, Josh secures a position as a "computer operator," actually a data entry clerk, at a toy manufacturer. By chance he impresses the company's president, played with great good spirits by Robert Loggia, who ends up giving Josh the position of Vice President of Product Development. As part of Josh's fairy-tale life, he gets to play chopsticks with his boss on a huge floor piano at FAO Schwarz in easily the most captivating scene in the picture.
In contrast to Josh's innocence, Elizabeth Perkins as Susan and John Heard as Paul play yuppie executives on the move. Toys to them mean focus groups and demographic studies, but to Josh toys only mean fun. When Heard gives a stellar presentation on a toy building that transforms, Josh disagrees, arguing that there is nothing fun about a building. Josh suggested bugs instead, which the president loves.
The most delicate part of the film is Susan's crush on Josh, which leads to a "sleepover." Marshall, by cutting away just after Susan takes off her blouse and Josh touches her with childlike innocence, manages to keep the show's PG rating and give the scene incredible but simple beauty.
It would be easy to miss how important Perkins's performance is in the film. Dressed in proper but alluring ankle length dresses at the office, Susan starts with a tough edge, but her contact with Josh changes her life forever. After going to a party in a frilly black skirt, she gets herself invited into Josh's apartment. In the perfect cure for her stiffness, he gets her to join him on his trampoline. As her ruffles fly all about her, her transformation is palpable.
Although the story is set in the adult world, Josh's childhood companion, Billy (Jared Rushton), appears frequently to remind Josh of his childhood roots. When Josh eventually becomes as hard driven an executive as the others and has no time for Billy, Billy poses a simple question to him. "I'm your best friend," he says. "What's more important than that?" What indeed.
BIG runs 1:44. It is rated PG for some profanity and the beginnings of a love making scene. The film would be fine for kids 8 and up, but they may need to be 10 to enjoy it.
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