YOU’RE ONLY YOUNG ONCE!

12-year-old Josh gets his wish granted from a mysterious fortune-teller machine and wakes up the next day as a 30-year-old man.

The film that turned Tom Hanks into a huge star expertly takes advantage of his likability and skill, allowing him to project his inner 12-year-old in charming ways. As a fantasy, Big has a light touch and conviction in Penny Marshall’s approach that makes you turn a blind eye to the improbability of Elizabeth Perkins’s character falling for her very immature co-worker; she’s also very good.

The most successful of several age-changing films at the time; the piano scene is irresistible.

1988-U.S. 104 min. Color. Directed by Penny Marshall. Screenplay: Gary Ross, Anne Spielberg. Cinematography: Barry Sonnenfeld. Cast: Tom Hanks (Joshua ”Josh” Baskin), Elizabeth Perkins (Susan Lawrence), Robert Loggia (Mr. MacMillan), John Heard, David Moscow, Jon Lovitz, Mercedes Ruehl.

Trivia: Co-produced by James L. Brooks. Also released in a 130-min. version. Spielberg’s brother Steven was initially set to direct, but dropped out; Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro and Steve Guttenberg were considered for the lead role. Later a Broadway musical. Remade twice in India.

Golden Globe: Best Actor (Hanks).

Last word: “Penny has an iron will, which is a thing that almost everybody misses. You can’t do the job she’s done and have it be dictated by insecurities. Penny has great creative instincts and a real openness to the creative process. She would talk to her actors very honestly and I think that made her actors trust her. One of the most difficult things for an actor like Tom Hanks who’s become so prominent is keeping that ability to trust. But he trusted Penny and you can see the results – he wasn’t locked off, with his performance already stuck in his mind. He responded to her openness.” (Brooks, Los Angeles Times)

---