#62 - "Big" (1988) with Chris McMichen

Undeniably, the best of the mini-cycle of body-swap comedies from late eighties, this is the flick that revealed that Tom Hanks was capable of much more than just one-dimensional idiotic comedic roles. His transformation into the floppy walk and wide-eyed enthusiasm of a 13 year old boy is a masterclass in physical acting. It also proved that Penny Marshall was a bonafide blockbuster movie director and not just the tough-talking and boy-crazy Laverne De Fazio on TV's “Laverne & Shirley”. So grab some quarters for the Zoltar machine and make a wish as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Chris McMichen, discuss “Big” from 1988 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!

Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:

• The scene where Josh and Billy squirt silly string in poses of sneezing, barfing, etc. was not in the original script. It came from the rehearsal when Penny Marshall put Tom Hanks, Jared Rushton, and David Moscow in a studio room full of toys and just let them play together. When they got hold of the string they attempted to out-gross each other and that is how the scene ended up in the movie.
• Another memorable scene in Big is when Josh and Susan go back to his loft after attending the company party and he coaxes her into trying out his trampoline. In 2013, Perkins admitted that the scene "petrified" her, because the trampoline was situated right next to these huge glass windows (the implication evidently being that she might bounce right off the trampoline, crash through the windows, and fall several flights down to the street). On a side note, in 2019, Perkins told Us magazine that she still has the black cocktail dress that she wore in this scene.

Sources:

Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo

https://www.ranker.com/list/big-1988-behind-the-scenes/tracey-graham

https://www.fast-rewind.com/making_big.htm

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64578/15-huge-facts-about-big

https://www.dvdizzy.com/big.html

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