I often wonder why it's so damn hard to just be a big kid no matter how old you are. Big is a movie about hanging on to that carefree child even when you grow up. It's about not getting caught up in stringent rules and routines, remembering those things that made being young so great, the outlook on life, especially when facing the mundane world of adulthood. Big strikes the balance between the two.
This is one of those movies that nearly everyone has seen. And, I suppose it's the precursor to that movie, 13 Going on 30, despite some differences in how the metamorphosis occurs and the result and everything.
Big is the story of 13 year-old Josh Baskin who is tired of missing out on all the privileges of being an adult. He's tired of simply being a kid. One night, he makes a drastic wish at a carnival arcade machine, and in the next day, he wakes up 30 years-old (or so). So the kid gets his wish, and while trying to return to normal, is a 13 year-old kid faced with a 30-year old's responsibilities. And it's a lot of fun. He works at a toy manufacturer. He gets the most excellent loft. I remember wanting a place like that when I was a teenager. Eventually, the 13-year-old must balance with the responsibilities of being a 30 year-old when Josh falls seriously in love with Susan (Perkins).
Big is one of the greatest movies ever simply because of the idea of a kid trying to be an adult and an adult still trying to hang on to being a kid, and all that things that Josh Baskins gets to experience while doing that.
As one of Penny Marshall's most notable production, this is enjoyable for nearly any age group. Everyone in it is fantastic--Hanks, Perkins, Loggia, Heard, Rheul, Moscow, and Rushton. It's a tough thing trying to hang to being young when you get older, but Big's a good reminder to keep trying.