"Little" Movie Review

Reboots and remakes are a way of life in the movie industry. It seems like there's at least fifty per year, if not more. Little manages to be its own film all the while paying tribute to Big. It seems like a lot of films in some way reference the Tom Hanks 80s masterpiece and there's been many remakes of it. From 13 Going on 30 to 17 Again, the film has been gender-swapped and reversed and copied in every way. Little gives its take something no other version has: a powerful black woman with attitude.

Little follows Jordan Sanders, a woman who has risen from middle school science geek to owning and running her own company. She was bullied as a child and swore that when she grew up, no one would ever talk down to her again. She became hard-hearted and cold and never lets anyone get close to her. After a stressful and disappointing day, Jordan mouths off to a young girl with a love for magic tricks. The kid wishes Jordan to be little again. The next day, Jordan wakes to find she's a 14-year old girl again. Now, Jordan has to rediscover kindness and love in order to return to her adult self.

The thing that caused the film to suffer most was the writing. Tracy Oliver had the basic story outline but director Tina Gordon wrote the bulk of the screenplay. The thing about Ms Gordon is that she either goes too far or not far enough. Tina wrote What Men Want, which I felt was funny to an extent but crossed the line in so many ways that uncomfortable would be an understatement. Little was the polar opposite of that, being a family friendly film that tried to send valuable lessons to adults and kids both. The only two problems were that the film's funniest moments were already in the trailers and the heart the film tried to have was so dry that you had to dig to find it.

I know it sounds like I'm really bashing the film and I don't mean to sound that way. The chemistry among the cast members was outstanding and what humor there was felt natural and flowed very well. Marsai Martin is a little genius herself and is sure to accomplish some great things in her future. Regina Hall and Issa Rae played off each other so well that you can almost guarantee that those two are the best of friends off-set. If anything, those three saved the film.

In conclusion, I can see what Little was trying to accomplish. Despite its flaws, it's still a fun and entertaining film and Marsai will steal your heart from the start. I don't think the film deserves the criticism that it has been getting, but I do think it could have been better. I give the film a 2.5 out of 4.