Review of Big Business (1988) by Arikagan — 15 Jun 2018

Last week was the 30th anniversary of 'Big', which has been a favorite film of mine for a very long time. This movie is what made me love Tom Hanks and helped catapult his career into what it is now. Directed by Penny Marshall, 'Big' tells the story of 13-year-old Josh Baskin who wishes to be big (taller) and wakes up the next morning as a 30-year-old man. This film inspired such films like '17 Again' to take a kid or an adult and have them wake up in a different version of their own body. While a funny idea, it's become a cliche in comedy films, and although 'Big' did a great job with their story, other films failed to do so that used that trope.

Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg, sister of the great Steven Spielberg, wrote a fantastic and clever script that clearly depicts how a kid would react in an adult's body. The film perfectly plays off its humor in a way that doesn't make it feel excessive. There are plenty of quotes and one-liners that are still memorable to this day.

The cast performances are great, the standout of course being Tom Hanks as Josh. The chemistry between Josh and Susan (Elizabeth Perkins) is great, and seeing Josh interact with other characters differently is fun to see. When he's with his best friend Billy (Jared Rushton), he acts like himself. When he's with his co-workers, he doesn't act like himself in fear of them knowing he's actually a kid trapped in an adult's body.

One of my favorite things about this film is Howard Shore's musical score. It's one of my favorites and fits the tone of the film very well. I think it's incredibly underrated, and it should have been nominated for Best Original Score at the Academy Awards.

If I had to come up with one main issue I had with this film, it would be the pacing. Now, I do think the film goes by fast no matter which version you watch (i.e. extended version, 2 hrs 10 mins). There were some scenes in the theatrical version that were either unnecessary or dragged on for too long. Besides this, 'Big' is a fantastic film that, 30 years later, is still loved and is a great family film.