Remember Tom Hanks’ breakout film “Big?” While it was a smash hit, and a classic of the ‘80s, the film doesn’t necessarily hold up with some of its more problematic elements (the sexual situation, anyone?). Well, we’ll have to see how co-writer and director Tina Gordon navigates those waters with her upcoming film, “Little.” (Get it? it’s “Big,” but…reversed.)
The first trailer for “Little” shows why there is some promise…and the potential for disaster. First, the good news. Regina Hall, fresh off her performance in “Support the Girls,” plays a power-mad businesswoman that is due for a comeuppance. Her assistant, played by Issa Rae, of “Insecure” fame, deals with all her boss’ crap, but is just looking for the right moment to put her in her place. Things get all sorts of crazy when Hall’s character gets magically changed into the younger version of herself. That’s when we get to the…odd parts.
Suddenly, when you put an adult woman in the body of a younger girl, things get awkward. When the younger girl, played by Marsai Martin, finds herself attracted to her teacher in school (yes, she has to enroll in school), it’s just creepy. Then there’s the scene where Rae has to fight the younger version of her boss, leading to a public spanking, which again…is weird.
Obviously, this film will make a ton of money, with Rae and Hall leading the way, and superstar producer Will Packer (“Girls Trip” & “Night School”) behind the scenes. We’ll just have to see if “Little” can actually be a good film.
“Little” hits theaters on April 12.
Here’s the synopsis:
Girls Trip’s Regina Hall and Black-ish’s Marsai Martin both star as Jordan Sanders — Hall as the take-no-prisoners tech mogul adult version of Jordan and Martin as the 13-year-old version of her who wakes up in her adult self’s penthouse just before a do-or-die presentation. Insecure’s Issa Rae plays Jordan’s long-suffering assistant April, the only one in on the secret that her daily tormentor is now trapped in an awkward tween body just as everything is on the line. Little is an irreverent new comedy about the price of success, the power of sisterhood and having a second chance to grow up — and glow up — right.