Directed by:
Penny Marshall
Written by:
Garry Ross & Anne Spielberg
Cast:
Tom Hanks ………. Josh
Elizabeth Perkins ………. Susan
Robert Loggia ………. MacMillan
John Heard ………. Paul
Jared Rushton ………. Billy
The Film:
In 1988, Tom Hanks wasn’t the biggest movie star in the world, coming off some not so successful films. Penny Marshall was a sitcom star making her first steps behind the camera, having only directed one feature film. Garry Ross and Anne Spielberg were also taking their first steps in writing a feature film. But even with inexperience, this group created one of the cutest, touching and most fun movies of all time.
Big told the story of Josh Baskin, a 13-year-old kid who makes a wish – one that every kid makes – to be big. But as his wish comes true, he finds out life’s not that easy when you’re big. He’s a teenager trapped in the body of a 30-year-old. He moves to New York and gets a job at a toy company until, he can find out how to turn back into a kid again. The movie takes us through his adventures in New York City — from the dangers at the slum hotel he first stays in to the even more dangerous corporate world.
The contrast between the innocent and childish Baskin and the tough corporate executives provided some of the funniest moments, but not funny in a “he’s so childish” way but rather in an honest way. Ross and Spielberg say in an interview that when they wrote the script they tried to keep it free from over the top, “infantile” jokes and leave only the parts that seem genuine, that are believable for a 13 years old kid, even if he’s in a grownup body. They did a pretty good job with that as nothing seemed pushed or forced. It’s also noticeable in the romantic scenes with Josh and Susan, as the contrast between Susan, who plans to advance through Josh’s bed and Josh, who has no idea at first how to act with women, bring some very funny, and touching moments.
Tom Hanks was the perfect actor for the role of Josh. Back then he had a baby face and was young enough to pull that off. One thing that really stands out is that he didn’t act like a grownup pretending to be a kid. He was believable as a boy. This can be attributed to a very interesting approach Penny Marshall took (They discuss it in one of the bonus features) — she shot many of the “Grownup Josh” scenes, mostly the romantic ones, with David Moscow (young Josh) first, and then showed it to Hanks in order form him learn firsthand how a kid would actually act. Hanks also used to hang around backstage with Moscow Jared Rushton (Billy), again in order to learn how they act. He also brought to the set some experiences from his own kid, who was around the same age at the time of the filming. In that same bonus feature they mention that Robert De Niro was interested in playing Josh and only scheduling issues prevented him from taking the part. As much as I love De Niro, I’m glad he couldn’t make this movie. His performance in comedies makes me believe he wouldn’t do as good a job as Hanks. I think he’d act the way the writers didn’t want — he’d have looked like a grownup pretending to be a kid rather than a kid who just happens to be in a grownup body.
No review of Big is complete without mentioning one of the most famous scenes in the history of cinema — dancing on the keyboard at FAO Schwarz. I remember watching the film almost twenty years ago and this scene just stuck in mind. It truly encapsulated the whole essence of the film, as Josh, who looks like an adult, is acting like any kid would at this toy store, even with his boss around, and his innocent behavior just sweeps everyone around him. I’ve been to NYC twice so far, and each time I made a point of going to FAO Schwarz to walk on the big keyboard. I don’t know, maybe I’m childish like that.
This new release of Big includes an extended, director’s cut that adds some 20 minutes to the movie. The added scenes aren’t crucial to the story and excluding them didn’t hurt it, but some of material adds some background and depth to a couple of the supporting characters. (One scene, in particular, shows Billy’s home life which explains why he was so eager to go to NYC with Josh every day rather than go back home.) Still, nothing is lost if you watch the theatrical cut.
Big was nominated for two Academy Awards for acting (Tom Hanks) and writing (Garry Ross & Anne Spielberg). Tom Hanks won the Golden Globe for his performance and the movie itself was also nominated for a Golden Globe. Other awards the movie has include three Saturn Awards (Hanks, Robert Loggia and Ross & Spielberg), an American Comedy Award to Hanks, the People’s Choice Award for best comedy and several other awards.
The DVD:
Big — Extended Edition arrives on a two disc set. The first disc contains the original theatrical cut, which is also available with an audio commentary by the writers, and the extended cut. The second disc contains the bonus material. The discs arrive in a single keep case which is packed inside a cardboard sleeve.
The Video:
A nice digital transfer that makes everything looks very clear and crisp. The movie is very colorful and the transfer does it justice.
The Audio:
Unfortunately there’s no 5.1 surround sound, just a standard stereo sound. Perhaps it’s because they wanted to include two cuts of the movie on the one disc, each cut also includes French and Spanish soundtracks. However, I think in this day and age, even a movie that is mostly dialogue like this one, should include surround sound audio. Had they split the two cuts between the two discs, they could have included all the bonus features and a better audio transfer.
The Extras:
I already mentioned there are two cuts for the movie. The theatrical cut has audio commentary from the writers. The extra scenes from the extended cut are also available on their as bones material, with introduction from Penny Marshall.
There are five featurettes. “Big Beginnings” is an interview with the writers and the producer James L. Brooks. “Chemistry of a Classic” deals mostly with the casting process and the process Marshall and Hanks used to make the movie and Josh believable and real. It was made for the DVD release and includes recent interviews with the creators and most of the cast (minus Hanks). I found this one the most interesting of the five. “The Work of Play” is different and fun as it deals with the process of creating new toys and has interviews with creative forces in some of the biggest toy companies in the world. “Hollywood Backstory” is a look back at the film and its making and “Carnival Party Newswrap” is a short item about the premiere of the movie.
Also included are the trailers and TV spots that promoted the movie. Fox added promos for several of their DVD releases, most of the Tom Hanks movies.
