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Big (film)

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This article is about the 1988 film. For other uses, see Big (film) (disambiguation).
Big
Promotional film poster
Directed byPenny Marshall
Written byGary Ross
Anne Spielberg
Produced byJames L. Brooks
Robert Greenhut
StarringTom Hanks
Elizabeth Perkins
Robert Loggia
John Heard
CinematographyBarry Sonnenfeld
Edited byBarry Malkin
Music byHoward Shore
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • June 3, 1988 (1988-06-03)
Running time
104 minutes
130 minutes (Extended cut)
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish
Budget$18 million
Box office$151,668,774[1]

Big is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight. The film also stars Elizabeth Perkins, and Robert Loggia and was written by Gary Ross, with Justin Schindler and Anne Spielberg. The story was heavily inspired by, though not an actual remake of, the 1987 Italian film Da grande.[citation needed]

Big is one of four age-changing comedies that were released in the late 1980s. It surpassed the success of Like Father Like Son (1987) starring Kirk Cameron and Dudley Moore, Vice Versa (1988) starring Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage, and 18 Again! (1988) starring George Burns.

Plot

After being humiliated and told he is too short for a carnival ride while attempting to impress an older girl (Kimberlee M. Davis), 13-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) from Cliffside Park, New Jersey goes to a fortune-telling machine called Zoltar Speaks, and wishes that he was "big." By the next morning, he is shocked to discover that he has been transformed into a 30-year-old man (Tom Hanks). Fleeing from his mother (Mercedes Ruehl), who thinks he is a strange man who has kidnapped her son, Josh rents a cheap hotel room in New York City with the help of his best friend, Billy Kopecki (Jared Rushton), and gets a data entry job at MacMillan Toy Company.

By chance, Josh meets the company's owner, Mr. MacMillan (Robert Loggia), checking out the products at FAO Schwarz and impresses him with his happy-go-lucky childlike enthusiasm. In a now-famous scene, the two end up playing duets together on a foot-operated electronic keyboard, performing "Heart and Soul" and "Chopsticks". This earns Josh a promotion to a dream job: testing toys all day long and getting paid for it. He soon attracts the attention of the beautiful, ambitious 27-year-old Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins), a fellow toy executive. A romance begins to develop, much to the annoyance of Susan's competitive boyfriend, Paul Davenport (John Heard). As Josh becomes increasingly entwined in his "adult" life by spending more time with Susan, and his new ideas becomes valuable assets to MacMillan Toys, Billy begins feeling annoyed and neglected, feeling that Josh has forgotten who he really is.

Susan asks Josh to come up with proposals for a new line of toys. Josh is intimidated by the need to formulate the business aspects of such a proposal, and Susan insists that she will handle the business end; that Josh need only rely on his affinity for toys to come up with a good idea. Nonetheless, Josh soon begins to feel overly pressured by this new life. When he expresses doubts to Susan and attempts to explain that he is really a child, she interprets this as fear of commitment on his part, and dismisses his explanation in frustration.

Longing to return to the life of a child, Josh eventually learns from Billy that the Zoltar Speaks machine is at Sea Point Park. In the middle of presenting their proposal to MacMillan and other executives, Josh leaves. After Susan realizes something is wrong, she leaves as well and encounters Billy, who tells her where Josh went. At the park, Josh finds the machine and makes a wish. He is then confronted by Susan, who, seeing the machine and the fortune it gave Josh, realizes he was telling the truth. Susan becomes despondent at realizing their relationship is over. Josh tells Susan she was the one thing about his adult life he wishes would not end, and suggests she use the machine herself to join him back in childhood. She declines, indicating that being a child once was enough, and takes Josh home. After sharing an emotional goodbye, Josh reverts to his child form. He is reunited with his mother, and later, with Billy.

Cast

Reception

Big was received with almost unanimous critical acclaim; based on 53 reviews collected by the film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of critics gave the film a positive review.[2] The New York Times praised the performances of Moscow and Rushton, saying the film "features believable young teen-age mannerisms from the two real boys in its cast and this only makes Mr. Hanks's funny, flawless impression that much more adorable."[3]

Big was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks) and Best Writing, Original Screenplay.

The film is number 23 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies. In 2000, Big was ranked 42nd on the American Film Institute's "100 Years…100 Laughs" list.[4] In June 2008, AFI named Big as the tenth-best film in the fantasy genre.[5] In 2008, Big was selected by Empire Magazine as one of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time."[6]

Extended cut

The film was re-released in 2007 in a 2-disc Extended Edition DVD. The DVD features the theatrical (104 minutes) and extended (130 minutes) versions of the film on the first disc. The second disc contains deleted scenes, featurettes, an AMC Backstory, and trailers and TV spots. The deleted scenes DO NOT include the rumored ending where a new girl that resembles Susan joins one of Josh's classes. According to the movie's producers, no such alternate ending was ever filmed, notwithstanding those who claim to "remember" seeing it.

Both Da grande picture (1987) and another 1988 film, 14 Going on 30, end in this fashion, which may be the source of this idea.

Trivia

Tom Hanks was the first choice for the role of Josh Baskin, Hanks turned down for the role, and he was filming in 1987 film Dragnet. Hanks came back to recast of the film.

Harrison Ford was considered for the role Josh Baskin, but Ford turned down for the role and wants to do in 1988 film Frantic instead.

Steven Spielberg was considered to direct the film, because Spielberg wants to do an filming in both 1989 films Always and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade instead.

Clint Eastwood was considered for the role of Josh Baskin, but director Penny Marshall turned Eastwood down, because Eastwood was too old.

Broadway musical

Main article: Big: the musical

In 1996, Big was made into a musical for the Broadway stage. It featured music by David Shire, lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., and a book by John Weidman. Directed by Mike Ockrent, and choreographed by Susan Stroman, it opened on April 28, 1996.

The Walking Piano, as featured in Big.

The piano scene has been parodied in many forms, including The Simpsons and Family Guy. The Zoltar Speaks scene has also been parodied on Family Guy and Futurama.

References

  1. ^ "Big (1988)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  2. ^ "Big (1988)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
  3. ^ Maslin, Janet (June 3, 1988). "Review/Film; Tom Hanks as a 13-Year-Old, in 'Big'". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  4. ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs". American Film Institute. 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 1, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  5. ^ "10 Top 10: Top 10 Fantasy". American Film Institute. 2008. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  6. ^ http://www.empireonline.com/500/60.asp
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