THE REWATCHABLES · January 24, 2023
A 1988 comedy / drama / fantasy directed by Penny Marshall, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The morning-after discovery, mirror-checking, and mom confrontation are highlighted as hilarious and painful.
About 32 minThe hosts call it the film's signature scene: organic, emotional, and visually mesmerizing.
About 16 minJosh's toy-filled loft is described as an aspirational kid fantasy.
About 40 minJosh's awkward adult performance and food reactions make the sequence highly rewatchable.
About 32 minThe date scene is seen as both funny and pivotal in Susan loosening up.
About 40 minThe rule dispute is praised as a funny childish scene.
About 40 minThe goodbye is emotionally effective but now feels morally and legally unsettling.
About 24 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsHanks should have won for Big.
Mallory RubinThe performance is excellent and could have won in a re-draft of history.
Bill SimmonsAt first she might not, but the details would eventually make it obvious.
Mallory RubinShe would need more evidence before accepting it, but the shock complicates things.
Bill SimmonsA sequel about Josh's adult life, Susan, or Zoltar could be compelling.
Mallory RubinSome sequel ideas are too weird, especially if Susan goes back in time too.
Bill SimmonsThe ending is too weird and hard to watch in 2023.
Mallory RubinThe emotional intent is understandable, but the age gap makes it uncomfortable.
Argues the movie is basically a perfect Tom Hanks showcase and that Hanks is what makes it work.
Opening minutesTreats the piano scene as the emotional core of the film and one of the best scenes in movie history.
About 16 minArgues Hanks is underrated, extraordinarily funny, and one of the great actors despite his mostly commercial filmography.
About 8 minReads the film as a celebration of shamelessly loving what you love and not losing curiosity with age.
About 8 minCalls the body-horror-ish awakening and bathroom discovery sequence extremely rewatchable and funny.
About 32 minLikes the party sequence for its food, awkwardness, and setup of Josh's social rise.
About 32 minLikes her career and performance, especially her role as the socially ambitious adult woman who loosens up around Josh.
About 32 min · medium confidenceRejects alternative casting hypotheticals as fundamentally inferior to the actual film.
About 8 minEnjoys the film but says the ending is hard to watch because of the romance's age gap.
About 24 minSees Susan as a climber who becomes more human through Josh, but also as the source of the film's uncomfortable parts.
About 8 minThe hosts frame the movie as a celebration of sincerity, instinct, and enthusiasm over grown-up pretension.
Opening minutesThe film's emotional power comes from recapturing childhood wonder and the sadness of losing it as adults.
About 16 minThe episode keeps returning to the idea that the movie only works because Hanks, Perkins, Loggia, and the supporting players fit so precisely.
About 16 minThe hosts spend substantial time on how today's audience would view the relationship between Susan and Josh as criminal or grotesque.
About 24 minBig was directed by Penny Marshall and became her first feature film.
About 32 minThe film was made for about $18 million and grossed over $150 million.
About 32 minThe piano was a practical build for the film and the production made a larger version for the scene.
About 40 minTom Hanks told Playboy the piano scene was exhausting and required extensive rehearsal.
About 32 minThe 'robot turns into a bug' toy pitch resembles Transformers' Insecticons.
About 40 min · medium confidenceBilly's family and the father's presence are treated as underexplained in the film.
About 40 minBill claims the Zoltar machine could be a real attraction in some places and talks about seeing one in San Antonio.
About 40 min · medium confidenceThe hosts discuss the New York age of consent in the context of the film's discomfort.
About 48 minUsed as a comparison point in the 1988 body-swap boom.
Opening minutesMentioned as another body-switch film from the same period.
Opening minutesAnother body-swap title in the same 1980s run.
Opening minutesUsed to argue that Hanks can carry a movie largely alone.
About 8 minCited as another Hanks performance that depends on sincerity and vulnerability.
About 8 minUsed to illustrate Hanks's dramatic range and seriousness.
About 8 minReferenced as another example of Hanks conveying fatigue and pain.
About 8 minDiscussed in relation to the 1988 Oscar race.
About 16 minMallory quotes Roger Ebert's review of it to frame wonder.
About 16 minReferenced as the toy store in the film's famous piano scene.
About 16 minJoked about in relation to Josh's sexual development and adult life.
About 24 minUsed in a joke about age and inappropriate relationships.
About 24 min · medium confidenceMentioned as a body-swap style example in a joke.
About 8 minReferenced as a more problematic 1980s toy-company-related film.
About 40 minUsed to discuss Hanks's later superstardom and massive cultural reach.
About 40 minThey repeatedly invent absurd sequel ideas involving Josh, Susan, Zoltar, and adult consequences.
About 24 minThe hosts reminisce about the 1980s body-swap movie cycle and its place in their childhood viewing.
Opening minutesBill repeatedly uses Josh's inability to understand adult corporate ideas as a comic refrain.
About 24 minThey imagine a more intense law-enforcement response using recurring Rewatchables-invented cop characters.
About 48 minThe hosts joke about the film's mixed sports loyalties and Billy's wall decor.
About 40 min“What's fun about a building?”About 8 min
“I don't get it. I don't get it.”About 24 min
“Piece of shit, Frank.”About 32 min
“Give me the goddamn ball.”About 40 min
“I'm your best friend.”About 40 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Big, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Mallory RubinThe Rewatchables
Van LathanThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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