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Movies / On DVD / Big
Big

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Big (1988)

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Reviews Counted:51

Fresh:49

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.9/10

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: A 13-year-old boy named Josh wants, more than anything else, to be "big". And when he makes a wish on a carnival wishing booth his dreams come true: he transposes into the body of a 35 year old man... A 13-year-old boy named Josh wants, more than anything else, to be "big". And when he makes a wish on a carnival wishing booth his dreams come true: he transposes into the body of a 35 year old man -- though his mind and spirit remain that of a child. Since he can't really go to school looking like an adult, and his mother doesn't know him in his new guise, he heads to New York with his pal Billy, where they proceed to goof off, play around, and act basically like the kids they are. But when Billy leaves, Josh is subjected to the encroaching needs and responsibilities of adulthood, and he quickly discovers both the pleasures and the problems of being grown-up. [More]

Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, David Moscow, Robert Loggia

Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, David Moscow, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton, Samantha Larkin, Mercedes Ruehl, Jon Lovitz, Josh Clark, Rockets Redglare, Jamie Tirelli, James Eckhouse, Tracy Reiner

Director: Penny Marshall

Director: Penny Marshall
Screenwriter: Gary Ross, Anne Spielberg
Producer: James L. Brooks, Robert Greenhut, Juliet Taylor
Composer: Howard Shore

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Big

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

This is mainstream Hollywood filmmaking at its best -- packed with intelligence, humour and pathos.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Ben Falk
Ben Falk
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Once in a blue moon, there are moments of perfect casting that virtually ensure a movie is going to be a piece of class. And that's what you've got here.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/01/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

As a crowd-pleasing comedy it works. But it really could have been so much more.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
12/12/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Marshall, Hanks, and his co-stars seldom put a foot wrong.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It touched me

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
05/18/07
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

No review available.

comment Comment
10/15/03
Jurgen Fauth
Jurgen Fauth
About.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/04/03
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Kids will love the laugh-out-loud fantasy. Adults will laugh, too, as well as appreciate the sweetness that lies underneath.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Guy MacPherson
Guy MacPherson
Apollo Guide

Hanks so convincingly played a grown-up with a 12-year-old mind that he transformed instantly in the public eye from a run-of-the-mill comedy star to a respected actor with limitless potential.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
06/03/07
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

No review available.

comment Comment
07/31/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
12/18/03
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

No review available.

comment Comment
04/13/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
01/12/04
Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi
Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi
Broomfield Enterprise

Will always remain Hanks' best comic performance.

comment Comment
07/29/04
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

As far as the movie's message is considered -- if only grown-ups could be more like kids -- Jerry Lewis did an infinitely better job of plugging it in the 50s.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 5 Comments
04/01/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

The picture still stands proud as a comedy easy chair of sorts, but even more vividly as Tom Hanks's finest hour as an actor.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
05/07/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
DVDTalk.com

Thanks almost exclusively to Tom Hanks, "Big" is far and away the best "age-switch" flick out there.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Just a really fun movie that you can fall right into.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/06/03
Oz
Oz
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/29/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

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