I finally watched this big hit after years of avoiding it. The picture was apparently created in a test tube based on all of the fantasies that would appeal to adolescent white males-Hollywood's gold standard for selling tickets. I was so hoping NOT to be disappointed, but was, thoroughly.

Big is in my opinion one of young tom hanks best performances. Im talking pre forest Gump, cause everything after that you might as well take your pick for great movies. If you liked young Tom in money pit, you'll enjoy this just as much. Its a light hearted, feel good movie, with a great message. This sneaky classic stars a young tom hanks alongside Elizabeth Perkins in her prime and has a very relatable message that anyone of any age can relate to. if you consider yourself a tom hanks fan and haven't seen this movie yet, then your not really a fan. Enjoy.

"Big" is an American English-language movie from 1988, so this one will already have its 30th anniversary next year. It i maybe the most known work by director Penny Marshall, an experienced actress as well. The script is by Gary Ross and you will find many known films in his body of work (after all he has 4 Oscar noms) such as "The Hunger Games". His co-writer was Anne Spielberg, sister of Steven, who received her very first and so far only Oscar nomination for this 100-minute film. But the star is of course lead actor Tom Hanks. This film brought Hanks a Golden Globe win and his very first Oscar nomination. In here he plays a 13-year-old boy in the body of a grown man. The premise is one that could have gone crucially wrong actually if handled with less competence, but Hanks is hitting all the right notes. See for yourself what he does in here and you will most likely agree. Hanks' performance also results in this film being truly memorable in what it teaches the individual audience member, namely to stay young at heart, even if it is not really a voluntary decision for the central character. There are two scenes in particular that emphasize this message. The first would be the piano scene, which is probably the best from the entire film and a moment of true movie magic. It is probably also the reason why Robert Loggia received some awards attention here. The second would be the trampoline scene which is basically a slightly weaker, but still pretty great, version of the piano scene. Another favorite scene for me was the fight with whom you could maybe consider the main antagonist in this film. It shows how the latter is also still very much a child, but not in a good way while Hanks' character's actions are somewhat justifiable by his real age. This also shows that the protagonist is not a hero who wants to help everybody in finding happiness in life and embracing their inner self. They need to want it themselves mostly.This may be a fantasy film to some extent, but it is really much more of a comedy/drama. The references about the reason why he changes (i.e. this strange machine) are kept at a minimum early on in the film and very late. There is no talk about other wishes being granted although honestly this machine could have been used for several sequels. But maybe it is a good thing that it wasn't. I also want to talk a bit about the ending. I really wished for the woman deciding to transform into a child as well, but I think they probably made the right decision. Another reason why this is not really fantasy film and Hanks' character is also in the center of it all. But even if my wish was not granted, I very much liked the ending. It felt authentic and realistic and that's more important than a feel-good happy ending. Not that this was an unhappy ending. not at all. But really hoping for one particular ending also shows us how much we cared about the characters and their relationships in here. I think this film is a tremendous success and for Hanks probably on par with his very best career efforts. It maybe a bit of a one-man show, but if this one man is as convincing as in here, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. A must-see and my new favorite film from 1988. Of course the script is really good too. Only one example: the ways in which the kids react towards the grown-ups: The best friend tells the protagonist how he looks like **** as a grown-up or the best friend is disgusted by the protagonist's girlfriend. This is exactly the way kids would react in this scenario. Very well done. No surprise everybody loves Hanks with films like this in his body of work.

Even with this early film of his, you can see why Tom Hanks is one of the greatest living actors of our generation. Not many actors can pull off what Hanks does here. It is simply brilliant. The film is about a boy who makes a wish to "be big" and wakes up a 35 year old man. Tom does look a little young for the role, considering he was 32 at the time but looks 28; but maybe they did that for a reason. To make visually augment Hanks' performance. Who knows? Anyway this film is outstanding and etc, etc. Chances are that if you are reading this review, you've already seen and love this film.