Big
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When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big, he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight, but he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups, including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.
What critics thought
Critics in 1988 were nearly unanimous in their enthusiasm, treating Big as a warm, shrewdly calibrated fantasy that avoids the obvious pitfalls of its body-swap premise. The performance of Tom Hanks was singled out by almost every reviewer as the film's engine — not just charming but genuinely vulnerable in ways his earlier work hadn't shown. Marshall's light directorial touch, letting the comedy breathe without hammering its themes, was the other consistent point of praise.
“Wide-eyed, excited and wonderfully guileless, [he] is an absolute delight, and the film is shrewd in relieving him of the responsibility to behave furtively and hide his altered condition.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“Keeping it spry and winningly light, director Penny Marshall doesn't hammer any themes or satire into the film; she, quite shrewdly, keeps Big likeably small. The comedy is natural and unforced, in no small part because of Hanks' wonderfully slapstick performance.”
Duane Byrge·The Hollywood Reporter
“Hanks, who had a tendency to push too hard, I thought, in Nothing in Common, this time finds a vulnerability and sweetness for his character that's quite appealing.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Elizabeth Perkins gives a smart, sexy performance as Susan, and Robert Loggia has a crusty whimsicality as Josh's boss.”
Jay Boyar·Orlando Sentinel
Accolades
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
Penny MarshallDirector
Tom HanksJosh
Elizabeth PerkinsSusan
Robert LoggiaMacMillan
John HeardPaul
Jared RushtonBilly
Jon LovitzScotty Brennen
David MoscowYoung Josh
Mercedes RuehlMrs. Baskin
Debra Jo RuppMiss Patterson
Josh ClarkMr. Baskin
Howard ShoreComposer
Gary RossWriter
Barry SonnenfeldCinematographyBig
When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big, he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight, but he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups, including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.
What critics thought
Critics in 1988 were nearly unanimous in their enthusiasm, treating Big as a warm, shrewdly calibrated fantasy that avoids the obvious pitfalls of its body-swap premise. The performance of Tom Hanks was singled out by almost every reviewer as the film's engine — not just charming but genuinely vulnerable in ways his earlier work hadn't shown. Marshall's light directorial touch, letting the comedy breathe without hammering its themes, was the other consistent point of praise.
“Wide-eyed, excited and wonderfully guileless, [he] is an absolute delight, and the film is shrewd in relieving him of the responsibility to behave furtively and hide his altered condition.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“Keeping it spry and winningly light, director Penny Marshall doesn't hammer any themes or satire into the film; she, quite shrewdly, keeps Big likeably small. The comedy is natural and unforced, in no small part because of Hanks' wonderfully slapstick performance.”
Duane Byrge·The Hollywood Reporter
“Hanks, who had a tendency to push too hard, I thought, in Nothing in Common, this time finds a vulnerability and sweetness for his character that's quite appealing.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Elizabeth Perkins gives a smart, sexy performance as Susan, and Robert Loggia has a crusty whimsicality as Josh's boss.”
Jay Boyar·Orlando Sentinel
Accolades
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
Penny MarshallDirectorTom HanksJoshElizabeth PerkinsSusanRobert LoggiaMacMillanJohn HeardPaulJared RushtonBillyJon LovitzScotty BrennenDavid MoscowYoung JoshMercedes RuehlMrs. BaskinDebra Jo RuppMiss PattersonJosh ClarkMr. BaskinHoward ShoreComposerGary RossWriterBarry SonnenfeldCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy