Body Swap movies are a dime a dozen, whether it’s a mother and her teenage daughter in Freaky Friday, or the 1984 Steve Martin/Lili Tomlin classic, All of Me.
Tom Hanks went solo as a big kid in his 1988 comedy Big, and now Andrew Lawrence does the same in this month’s DVD release, Big Baby. The difference? January’s straight-to-DVD release is a family movie aimed squarely at the younger generation, but that’s not a bad thing.
Lawrence has a lot of fun as the adult version of 2 year old Bobby, particularly in the earlier moments when he first sees himself in a mirror as a 30 year old man. His transformation comes relatively early in the movie letting the real fun begin and it’s sure to entertain the junior members of the family. There’s even enough laughs to keep the adults amused.
If there’s one main problem with writer/director Stephen Langford’s plot, it’s the characters. There’s too much bumbling and fussing in his childlike world which detracts from the comedy of the central character. When everyone is out of their depth, there’s not a lot of uniqueness in young Bobby’s situation.
Having said that, there’s some good lessons about family and responsibility, especially through Alana Baer’s role as Bobby’s immature teenage sister who has to suddenly grow up to protect her brother.
The adventure of the story comes in the form of the hapless baddies determined to steal the Matter Advancer invention that made Bobby age so drastically. Stuck to Bobby’s arm and worth millions of dollars, the only way to steal it is to kidnap the man-child himself. The danger of the situation is enhanced when the family realise they must also race against time to reverse Bobby’s transformation before it becomes permanent. It keeps the story rolling along at a good pace and, while relatively predictable, it does take the humour beyond fart jokes and silly walks…eventually.
There’s ham acting all-round but done with a deliberate sense of fun. The cast also features Maureen McCormick (The Brady Bunch), Kip Gilman and Ken Davitain (Borat). Watch it if you enjoy films like Big or Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Rating out of 10: 6
Big Baby will be released on DVD on 13 January 2016.
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