Big (1988)

"Big" instantly became one of my favorite films. 20 years later, I can still say the same thing. This film not only "holds up" well, it is still a timeless classic. Hanks & Perkins give outstanding performances; instead of "playing" a 12 year old, Hanks actually becomes one. His innocence is totally believable. Perkins plays the part of the ambitious Susan to perfection, and she is the perfect love interest for Hanks. Talk about chemistry here! The acting was great and the entire cast did an superb job. The movie is definitely a feel-good piece, but it's more than just fluff. If you think about some of the messages, it's telling us just to take things at face value and enjoy life. Josh succeeds because he has no ulterior motives. We are regularly reminded about the importance of friendship, and how events in our lives can sometimes threaten our relationships with established friends when we find something or someone new that we think deserves our full attention. Of course, a good friend will forgive you for such indulgences.

Overall, the movie deserves more stars for it's clever laughs, amazing acting, magnitude of imagination and nostalgia. Nonetheless, when the ending came along, I was left in shock wondering what just happened. Is that it? What happens next? There has to be additional footage. It cannot end like this. It called for a sequel perhaps, but I don't know if it ever came out. If you never watched this movie and would like to experience 80's nostalgia, it is highly recommended! My Ratings: 9 out of 10.

Fmovies: "Big" is a captivating, funny, heartwarming movie starring Tom Hanks. It is well deserving of any and all accolades. A kid, Josh, makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big - and Zoltar grants it. The boy becomes a man - on the outside, anyway. When Josh's own mother doesn't know him, his best friend helps him relocate in New York City while his family thinks he's been kidnapped. He finds a job at a toy company and the big boss (Robert Loggia) recognizes him as an eccentric genius, continually promoting him over his competition (John Heard). A young woman in the company (Elizabeth Perkins) falls in love with him. When he brings her to his new, gorgeous apartment, she sees his bunk bed, soda machine, and trampoline.

This movie was remade as "13 Going on 30," which was also a delightful movie, but not nearly as memorable as "Big." As we watch Hanks spitting out Beluga caviar at the office party, eating his way through the buffet, and dressing in what can only be called a white Elvis tuxedo, we realize how far we all are from our child within and that sense of wonder and freedom that brings with it original thoughts and creativity. As the boy Josh starts identifying more with his external appearance and discovers sex and the pressures of work, he realizes that something is missing.

Everyone in the film is excellent, including Josh's adult love interest, Elizabeth Perkins, John Heard, Robert Loggia, Mercedes Ruehl, and Jared Rushton as Billy, Josh's best friend. The end is adorable and worthy of some tears - which I shed. Highly recommended.

I often wonder why it's so damn hard to just be a big kid no matter how old you are. Big is a movie about hanging on to that carefree child even when you grow up. It's about not getting caught up in stringent rules and routines, remembering those things that made being young so great, the outlook on life, especially when facing the mundane world of adulthood. Big strikes the balance between the two.

This is one of those movies that nearly everyone has seen. And, I suppose it's the precursor to that movie, 13 Going on 30, despite some differences in how the metamorphosis occurs and the result and everything.

Big is the story of 13 year-old Josh Baskin who is tired of missing out on all the privileges of being an adult. He's tired of simply being a kid. One night, he makes a drastic wish at a carnival arcade machine, and in the next day, he wakes up 30 years-old (or so). So the kid gets his wish, and while trying to return to normal, is a 13 year-old kid faced with a 30-year old's responsibilities. And it's a lot of fun. He works at a toy manufacturer. He gets the most excellent loft. I remember wanting a place like that when I was a teenager. Eventually, the 13-year-old must balance with the responsibilities of being a 30 year-old when Josh falls seriously in love with Susan (Perkins).

Big is one of the greatest movies ever simply because of the idea of a kid trying to be an adult and an adult still trying to hang on to being a kid, and all that things that Josh Baskins gets to experience while doing that.

As one of Penny Marshall's most notable production, this is enjoyable for nearly any age group. Everyone in it is fantastic--Hanks, Perkins, Loggia, Heard, Rheul, Moscow, and Rushton. It's a tough thing trying to hang to being young when you get older, but Big's a good reminder to keep trying.

Big fmovies. Ah, those were the days. All of us have done it. Wished we were older, so we could do more. Well, in the movie "Big", a child's wish to become big comes true.

Josh is a boy who is not tall enough to ride a roller coaster at a theme park. Humilated in front of a girl he likes, he goes to a "fortune telling" machine, and wishes he could be bigger. He wakes up the next day as a man. When everyone he knows throws him out of their lives, except his best friend, he goes into the adult world. Just by knowing what kids want in toys, he becomes a success in a toy company. He also manages to get a girl wanting him(even though he is completely oblivious to it). All he wants is be himself again.

9/10

What we're talking about is a wonderful fantasy comedy about the child, who sleeps in everyone's soul and waits to get free. Superbly written scenes follow each other, not to mention Tom Hanks' performance, which should have been awarded. He seems to me the only contemporary actor, who was able to play the role of a 13-year-old teenager, who becomes an adult from one day to another. Elizabeth Perkins and especially John Heard form a strong supporting cast and this time they really support Hanks' work. This film bothers to talk about more important things, like the loss of innocence, friendship and the first love, not just tells a story about a boy in the big city. This was Hanks' star-making role after a string of stupid comedies in the middle 80s and he deservedly became one of the biggest stars of the 90s. And don't forget, this was his first film in his "outsider" series: he made his biggest successes playing somehow outsider figures: Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump or the Cast Away. Go and see it, you won't be disappointed even if you think you've lost the child inside you...with the help of this film you will find it. Believe me.

Tom Hanks is at his best -- as are the others in this wonderful movie. Manages to be lighthearted and profound at the same time. The individual scenes are funny and memorable (the boy in a man's body unabashedly devours the food at the office party, surrounded by the restrained and constrained adults), but the whole narrative works as well. Underrated by IMDb users, based on the ratings! If you haven't seen it, rent it next time you are in the mood for something fun.