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Created Oct 09, 2012 10:38PM PST • Edited Nov 03, 2022 01:20AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   A rare kid’s comedy that also succeeds at the adult level, Big is truly a movie for the whole family. Well, for everyone from teens on up, as the adult elements include F-bombs and heavy titillation.

   The kids-of-all-ages comedy comes from a 13-year-old who is magically transformed into a 32-year-old. And wouldn’t you know it, the mannish-boy is played by Tom Hanks in one of his inimitable roles.

   Movie magic gets made when he and a wonderfully gruff Robert Loggia dance on a “walking piano.” Just try not to grin.

   Final note: Big did big box office, making Penny Marshall the first woman to direct a movie that grossed over $100 million. Worth every penny.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Tom Hanks spent time playing with 13 year old David Moscow – who plays his younger incarnation – to get a sense of his mannerisms. It worked, as does Hanks’ native charm and sweet charisma. Wonderful.

   Moscow, who has gone on to an adult acting career, is charming and natural himself as that kid who wishes to be BIG.

   Elizabeth Perkins is tough and tender as a career gal who is ready to believe that her latest office boyfriend is just another guy incapable of commitment. Some 25 years later, Big remains one of her career highlights.

   Robert Loggia’s gruff voice and loosened tie make him perfect as an entrepreneurial honcho. But it is his Walking Piano dance with Hanks that stands the test of time. BTW, extras were originally slated to do the dance, but Loggia and Hanks wouldn’t stand for it and did the dance themselves. Perfectly.

   Others:

   • John Heard as an asshole executive, which is damn near his patented role.
   • Jared Rushton as a boy’s best friend.
   • Jon Lovitz as a jaded cube-dweller.

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

   Hanks

6. Female Stars Very Good 3.5

7. Female Costars Good 3.0

8. Male Costars Very Good 3.5

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    Steven Spielberg had no hand in Big even though it feels like one of his films. Cowriter Anne Spielberg must’ve picked up from her brother how to craft a great story about suburban kids living out a fantasy.

    Penny Marshall made the most of it, especially because it’s also an excellent career comedy.

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Really Great 4.5

    Much to admire in this script, not least a heartbroken woman hearing yet another guy say he can’t commit because he’s really a child. Of course, he’s telling the truth here. Clever.

13. Music Really Great 4.5

    Heart and Soul and Chopsticks played via dancing on a huge electronic piano are one of the great musical scenes in movie history.

14. Visuals Very Good 3.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 1.8

    Several F-bombs and some sexy foreplay make Big a surprisingly mature family movie.

17. Sex Titillating 1.9

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

19. Rudeness Profane 2.6

21. Reality

    Surreal 2.1

    Forget the supernatural bioreality, the movie is more intriguing as an Eighties’ time capsule. Primitive video games played on chunky PCs, women in big shoulder-pads and teased hair, no cell phones…

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.5

23. Biological Supernatural 3.7

24. Physical Natural 1.0