Review of Big (1988) by Brandon S — 14 Jun 2011

It is the kid at heart inside everyone that represents the audience that will most appreciate Tom Hanks' wonderful Big, the story of a boy instantly transformed into a man and his struggles with all of the responsibilities and emotions that mark that stage in life. Big tells the story of an individual seen through the eyes of others as a grown man but who watches the world go by with the understanding of a young boy. His wonder at the suddenly faster, more complicated world around him and his adolescent thought processes serve him well in every endeavor, the film stating that it is perception, not age; heart, not ability; and passion, not facts and figures; that drive success at any task. A reminder to all who watch on the importance of remaining forever young not necessarily in physical age but rather in heart, mind, and spirit, Big remains one of the more charming pictures of the past several decades, its uncanny ability to comment on some of life's most challenging problems from the perspective of a mind untarnished by the daily grind of life as an adult makes for compelling drama, plenty of humor, and touching situations that all come together to make Big a wonderful film for all ages.

Thirteen-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) is a typical American boy. He loves baseball, hangs out with his best friend Billy (Jared Rushton) and is just discovering an attraction to girls. When Josh is rejected by the girl he has is eye on for an older boy with a car, and is further humiliated when he is too short to board a ride at the amusement park, Josh wishes for nothing more than to be big. His wish is granted by a mysterious carnival quarter-eater called Zoltar, and indeed, 13-year-old Josh awakens the following morning in the body of a 30-year-old man (Tom Hanks, Cast Away), an older, bigger version of himself. Chased out of the house by a frightened mother, Josh turns to Billy for help. They decide to track down the Zoltar machine in hopes of reversing the wish, but the carnival has packed up and left town, their only way of discovering its new location through the city will require a six-week waiting period thanks to a mountain of bureaucratic red tape that slows the process considerably.

Josh finds himself stuck in a body and, more importantly, a world he doesn't understand. He deals with a worried mother by feigning a kidnapping, his adult voice standing in for the perpetrators, his only source of money Billy's father emergency stash. After a rough first night in a less-than-hospitable New York hotel, Billy and Josh begin searching for a job that Josh could perform, something to fill both his time and his pockets. They stumble across a help wanted ad for MacMillan Toys, and Josh lands a job as a data entry worker. An accidental run-in with Mr. MacMillan (Robert Loggia) leads to a major promotion for Josh, his new job allowing him to evaluate toys through extensive playtime and rigorous handling. Josh's amazing advancement stuns longtime employee Paul (John Heard, Home Alone), while Josh's easygoing and childlike demeanor catch the eye of another co-worker, Susan (Elizabeth Perkins), brewing Josh's first romance. Will Josh's foray into the adult world change him forever, leading him to abandon his childhood friends and desires, or will he come to realize that, despite his success as an adult, he belongs elsewhere?

The opening minutes of Big may seem a bit disconcerting; the film spends precious little time developing a young Josh Baskin, but it doesn't really need to. Tom Hanks secures the role from David Moscow and plays the same character, the only difference their physical statures. Hanks embraces the role as he always does, but with a twinkle in his eye and a performance that, for most any actor, would be one to define a career. Hanks has gone on to star in a variety of fantastic pictures, but Big might represent him at his most versatile, the Oscar-winning actor displaying a marvelous range as he copes with the realities of adulthood but from the perspective of a child. The raw emotion of his first night alone in the sleazy, run-down St. James hotel in New York, cowering in his bed, calling for his mother, and breaking down into an agonizing display of utter hopelessness as he screams and gunshots ring out below his room and an angry telephone conversation plays out from beyond his door is apt to bring audiences to tears, too, the genuine appearance of fear and uncertainty appearing as real here as one might expect of any traumatic true-life scenario. As the film moves on, Hank continues with the classic performance, playing the role with an infectious enthusiasm for the material and truly capturing the essence of a child suddenly absorbed into the adult world. Whether the film's lightest moments or its most dramatic, Hanks' effort in Big is worthy of the Oscar nomination it garnered. Hanks is supported by several strong performances from Jared Rushton, John Heard, and veteran character actor Robert Loggia.

Much like Josh Baskin, Big may age in years but certainly not in spirit, the film as charismatic, thought-provoking, and touching today as it was the day it was released. A timeless tale of the meaninglessness of the passage of time and the importance of youthful exuberance, a gentle approach to life's most challenging problems and situations, and a healthy amount of fun along the way, Big represents cinema at its most logical. The film recalls the easier, more innocent years of childhood, but more importantly, conveys the message that the passage of time or the structure of the adult world need not blur or ease those child-like thought processes that can define the very essence of every individual that chooses to keep them at the forefront of their lives.