Big (1988)

Directed by Penny Marshall. Starring Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Jared Rushton, Robert Loggia, John Heard, David Moscow, Jon Lovitz, Mercedes Ruehl, Debra Jo Rupp. [PG]

Endearing comic-fantasy about a boy (Moscow) making a wish that he was big and then waking up in an adult body (Hanks). Funny, poignant film takes an overworn high-concept premise (heck, there were almost a half-dozen kid-to-adult movies released within a couple years before and after this one) and makes it fresh again on the basis of clever dialogue and a terrific showcase for Hanks, just about perfect as the man-child struggling to fit in with the adult world. He’s matched by a top-notch supporting cast, including likable Loggia, hostile Heard, and Rushton as the best bud. Script is full of real-world-implication holes (the false kidnapping sub-plot is uncomfortable, to say the least), and most adults would agree that a wish-granting arcade machine is only, like, the fourth most improbable element of the story, but it’s hard to care about any of that stuff in the moment. Lovitz is a hoot as a snide coworker; it’s a shame he only has a handful of scenes.

81/100