After being embarrassed at a local fair for being too short for a carnival ride, Josh finds Zoltar, a fortune-telling game, and wishes to be big. The next morning, Josh wakes up to find that his wish has come true: he’s a twelve-year-old boy living in the body of an adult man. He returns to the fairgrounds but finds it abandoned, with the Zoltar game gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the help of his friend Billy, Josh finds himself in a low-rent apartment in New York City to hide until they can find out where to find the Zoltar game. When they find out, it will take about a month to get information on the game’s location. Josh finds a job working for MacMillan Toy Company in data entry. He impresses the CEO, Mr. MacMillan, with his youthful energy and catches the eye of Susan, a company executive. Josh is quickly promoted and begins to experience adult life, while Billy tries to find Zoltar to bring his friend back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is one of my favorite movies from the 1980s and one of my favorite performances from Tom Hanks<\/a><\/strong>. You can argue that this movie is not a true romantic comedy – if you take out the romance with Susan, does the story change much? Honestly, I would say yes! Josh’s blossoming romance with Susan is part of their character development and soon becomes the focus of the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Big<\/em> is dated, especially with the technology. But watching it today, the old-school toys and computers add even more charm to the film. Directed by the late Penny Marshall<\/a>, Big<\/em> is not what you would call an outrageous comedy despite its absurd premise. Marshall keeps it wonderfully contained as an amusing coming-of-age film, carried by Hanks’s irresistibly funny performance. The movie lives or dies on the adult Josh role, depending on an actor’s ability to play a child believably enough to have us buy into the premise. It’s tough to imagine anyone else playing Josh – Robert DeNiro had been in the running… can you imagine?<\/p>\n\n\n\n While not perfect, Big<\/em> is a sweet film with genuine laughs and entertaining performances. I don’t know how anyone can watch this movie and not enjoy it, especially when you see Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia play Heart and Soul<\/em> on a walking piano in the middle of F.A.O. Schwartz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can see why some may not view it as a straight rom-com, but that’s okay. If it means more people will watch and enjoy it, I’m good with labeling it as something else. Regardless, Big <\/em>is a comedy classic that earned Tom Hanks his first Oscar nomination and became the first film by a female director to earn more than $100 million at the box office. Watch it. And if you’ve already seen it, watch it again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watched:<\/strong> 06\/03\/2022
Notable Song<\/strong>: Forget Me Nots by Patrice Rushen<\/p>\n\n\n\n