The strange times continue as it remains necessary to isolate from friends and family. With all the anxiety and stress of these times, and cabin fever setting in, we need to find ways to escape from all of it, if only for a few hours. So here I am with my next quarantine/ social isolation viewing recommendation to offer an escape from the anxieties of the times, if only for 104 minutes. The magic body switching movie is kind of an interesting little subgenre, offering everything from instant classics to total bombs, and everything in between. Today’s recommendation is the greatest magic body switching movie of all time: Big.
Big is the story of a 13 year old boy, Josh Baskin, played by Tom Hanks (older) and David Moscow (younger), who isn’t tall enough to go on a ride at a carnival and is consequently embarrassed in front of a girl he likes. He goes and makes a wish to be big on a strange carnival arcade machine and it prints a ticket informing him his wish has been granted. The next morning Josh finds he has grown into a full size adult in his mid 30s. Josh recruits his best friend Billy, played by Jared Rushton, to help him find a job, a place to live and to solve his evident dilemma. Along the way he becomes romantically involved with Susan, played by Elizabeth Perkins, a cynical and jaded corporate business woman who becomes enamored by Josh’s innocent ways.
Tom Hanks is the beating heart of the movie, without him the whole thing likely falls apart. With his boyish looks and his ability to embody the innocence and wonder of a 13 year old boy who has not been jaded by the experiences of adult life. He really sells the playfulness and exuberance of a 13 year old boy when he’s hanging out and goofing around with Billy. Hanks and Rushton have such good chemistry that you really buy into and invest in the idea that these two have been best friends since early childhood. Their chemistry also drives home Billy’s frustration and disappointment as Josh slowly becomes more involved in his new adult life and slowly but surely has less and less time for Billy.
The other key relationship in Big is that between Josh and Susan, his love interest. Susan is very jaded and cynical about the corporate world and it’s bottom lines and also by her romantic life. The movie greatly insinuates that Susan has not been treated that great in her previous relationships so when Josh shows up, his charm, innocence and sweetness really melt the external barriers she has put up to protect herself. She is utterly shocked when he wants to just spend time with her and doesn’t try to sleep with her. Hanks and Perkins also have tremendous chemistry and really sell the audience on the innocence of their romance, which handled wrong could have been very problematic. The fact that they do end up sleeping together feels like something that couldn’t happen in movies today, given the whole 13 year old in a mans body thing, so instead will have to remain relegated to the 80s.
If you need a movie to lighten your spirits and escape the anxiety and cabin fever of the current times, you could do much worse than Big. A classic, fun, good natured romp, a great 80’s movie and the essential magic body switching movie. Tom Hanks is in top form here and really sells you on the idea that he is a 13 year old stuck in 30 something year olds body, with his boyish looks, exuberance and innocence, and a strong supporting cast to boot. I suggest you watch it tonight and escape the madness, if only for 104 minutes.