Big

The lead in Penny Marshall’s film belonged to Robert De Niro first. His six million dollar fee broke the budget; Marshall offered to cover the difference from her own pay, he refused, and it went to Tom Hanks. Hanks did not build the adult Josh from nothing; he copied David Moscow, the boy Josh. Moscow’s feet were growing fast, his shoes pinched and he walked oddly, so Hanks asked for oversized shoes. The walk is a quotation, not an invention. For the toy store piano Remo Saraceni built a three octave instrument; the shop floor one covered a single octave. Hanks and Robert Loggia practised for months on cardboard keys and played the scene themselves, without dancers. Body swap comedies arrived in a cluster: Vice Versa in March, 18 Again! in April, and Marshall’s film last, in June. It was the first film directed by a woman to pass 100 million dollars. At the Oscars Hanks was nominated for actor, and Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg in the category then called screenplay written directly for the screen. A good fit if you want to watch knowing where Hanks lifted the child from. Not for a viewer who does not want to carry the romance built on the adult body next to the fact that Josh is a child.