When "Big" was released in 1988, it was considered a fresh original comedy, and since there have been other similar films as well, such as "13 Going on 30". Well, I suspect it's time to have that comedic fantasy rehashed in the form of "Little".
Jordan Sanders (Regina Hall) is a take-no-prisoners tech mogul who torments her long-suffering assistant, April Williams (Issa Rae) and the rest of her employees including Preston (Tone Bell), Scott (Marc Hawes), Emily (Jade Fernandez) and Melissa (Kendra L. Williams), on a daily basis. She soon faces an unexpected threat to her personal life and career when she magically transforms into a 13-year-old version of herself (Marsai Martin) right before a do-or-die presentation with an important existing client, Connor (Mikey Day). Jordan will now need to rely on April more than ever--if April is willing to stop treating Jordan like a 13-year-old child who has an attitude problem.
Others to round out the cast are Justin Hartley as Mr. Marshall, a teacher, Luke James as Trevor, JD McCrary as Isaac, Tucker Meek as Devon, Thalia Tran as Raina, Marley Taylor as Stevie and Rachel Dratch as Agent Bea.
This was directed by a fairly seasoned writer, Tina Gordon Chism ("Peeples" '13). Certainly with her writing experience, her ability was made evident in her ability to direct. The emotions she was able to extract from her actors was just the right level making these characters seem real. She will certainly direct more. It was also wittingly written by Gordon Chism ("Drumline" '02, "ATL" '06, "Peeples" '13, "What Men Want" '19 and Tracy Oliver (Barbershop: The Next Cut" '16, "Girls Trip" '17) plus TV and shorts, based on a story by Oliver. What makes this somewhat different than the other similar plotted films is that the other films has a child that either wants or is thwarted into becoming an adult, whereas this is visa versa, where this woman is thwarted into becoming a child back when she was 13-years-old. Couple this with a fairly witty, funny script and a workable ensemble cast and what comes out of this is humorous and, at times, uproarious. Certainly these writers are in familiar territory and it surely suits them well, but it would be interesting to write something a bit different. Definitely there are writers that can write anything for any genre which is worth their weight in gold, but even if a writer stays in their comfort zone, that can be a good thing too. At least these writers know what they do best. This did have some issues with choppiness and tightness of script, but I certainly got many laughs out of this. This is like a cross between "Big" and "The Devil Wears Prada" whereas Jordan is very much like Miranda in Prada. If you like the brand of Tracy Oliver's writing style, her "The Sun Is Also a Star" is completed and will be released soon.
Could it be that the comedies that heavily rely on sex, drugs and 4-letter words riddled through the script are fading? We can only hope. Of late, comedies have been relying on script, interaction with actors and some good writing, like this, so can we expect to see more, if not even better films in the future? If Hollywood is smart, the answer to that question will be yes!
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 109mins.
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