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Review #185 of 365
Film: Little Man (2006) [PG-13] 90 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $9.00
Where Viewed: UA Denver Pavilions 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 15 July 2006
Time: 3:15 p.m.
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DVD |
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
The Wayans brothers are back in true form at last! Their latest effort, Little Man, directed by Keenan, co-writtten by Keenan, Shawn, and Marlon; and starring Marlon and Shawn is a challenging movie to critique. The reasons are that the film is as hilarious and ingenious as it is awkward and crude—which, for me anyway, sort of defines the Wayans brothers in general. All the way back to their ground breaking Fox television show "In Living Color", the Wayans brothers have pushed the envelope in mixing race with comedy but generally proving that racial issues need not be a part of their comedy. Which brings us to Little Man.
" The Wayans brothers are back in true form …hilarious…but crude…"
Little Man uses some pretty stunning digital effect filming to shrink Marlon down to tiny man size--actually two different actors (Linden Porco and Gabriel Pimental) played his body which accounts for some of the odd look he has especially when he is running around—so he may play the character of Calvin, a big time hoodlum in a small man's body. Calvin is released from prison and picked up by his semi-witless associate, Percy (Tracy Morgan). Tracy Morgan does a great job of making Percy into Calvin's simple-minded lackey. Percy has been hired by real gangster Mr. W. (Chazz Palminteri) to steal a huge diamond which, for some reason, was lightly guarded and on display at a local jewelry store. After stealing the diamond, Percy and Calvin, in order to escape the police, ditch the diamond in the purse of Vanessa (Kerry Washington) in the middle of a drug store. After a terrible scene where a black cop beats up a black man in the drug store confusing him for Calvin and Percy because he has been given the wrong shade of black as part of the description, Percy and Calvin escape and chase Vanessa and her husband Darryl (Shawan Wayans) home to their house in a cab. This is where they hatch the plan to disguise Marlon as a baby, leave him on the doorstep, and hope he'll be able to recover the loot before Mr. W. gets angry. The premise for comedy herein was ingenious. There were so many avenues to choose. And, the Wayans brothers chose all of them. Some awful, nasty, and crude such as Calvin getting urinated on by a dog while he's on the doorstep waiting to found by his new 'parents', or Calvin putting a cookie in his diaper and then back onto the plate because he's mad at Grandpa (John Witherspoon), or the constant hits to the groin jokes/routines. Some were brilliant such as having Calvin the baby bond with Vanessa and Darryl who have been putting off talking about having a kid as it could get in the way of Vanessa's career or when Mr. W.'s hoodlums come to recover the diamond themselves, Calvin turns into Kevin from Home Alone and defends his new family. The movie could have been made with far fewer crude scenes and been just as if not funnier. I'll never quite comprehend the desire to stoop to the lowest common denominator in comedy. A cheap laugh is not long remembered. So, as I say, with this film you must take the good with the bad. There are some classically hilarious bits that illustrate the Wayans's brothers deft understanding of comedy. I loved, for example, a scene in a restaurant where Vanessa is meeting Darryl to tell him she got a promotion but he assumes it's to tell him she is pregnant, so he hires a musician (David Alan Grier) to come and play songs a the table in her honor. And the poor guy tries his best, but nothing he does comes out appropriately and he ends up really irritating Vanessa. This was a small thing, but it was hilarious. But, there was another really terrible scene in the jewelry store where Percy must distract the saleslady so that Calvin can swipe the diamond, and when he starts to mention that he's there to big up some jewelry for some of his rap artist clients, she slips into some horrible rendition of gangsta' jive talk and ends up offering him gin and juice to drink. This bit would have even made Jamie Kennedy nauseous. There are some fun cameos by Molly Shannon and Rob Schneider. There is some Barney bashing. Yet there are some nasty bits with Calvin doing very un-baby-like things such as French kissing the nice neighbor who brings over baby things for him or crawling into bed with his new 'mother' and 'father' and doing things with 'mommy' under the covers that only daddies should do.
So, is this a good movie? Well, it is both a good and a not so good movie. Bottom line is that you have to take it for what it's worth. Either you can overlook the crude bits and nasty parts, or you cannot. If you can, you'll enjoy this film. It has a heart and soul, some good messages, and certainly Calvin demonstrates a huge amount of growth. Meanwhile, if you cannot, then save it for your DVD list.
So, is this a good movie? Well, it is both a good and a not so good movie. Bottom line is that you have to take it for what it's worth. Either you can overlook the crude bits and nasty parts, or you cannot. If you can, you'll enjoy this film. It has a heart and soul, some good messages, and certainly Calvin demonstrates a huge amount of growth. Meanwhile, if you cannot, then save it for your DVD list.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Little Man [Blu-ray](2006)
Little Man [DVD](2006) DVD
Little Man (UMD For PlayStation Portable)(2006)
Movies and TV Shows Starring: Keenan Wayans • Shawn Wayans • Marlon Wayans
Movies and TV Shows Directed by: Keenan Wayans
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Review-lite [150-word cap]
The Wayans brothers latest effort, Little Man, directed by Keenan, co-writtten by Keenan, Shawn, and Marlon; and starring Marlon and Shawn is a challenging movie to critique. The reasons are that the film is as hilarious and ingenious as it is awkward and crude. Using some stunning digital effect filming to shrink him down to tiny man size, Marlon plays the character of Calvin, a big time hoodlum in a small man's body. When a diamond heist goes sour, Calvin pretends to be an abandoned baby left on the doorstep of Vanessa (Kerry Washington) and Darryl (Shawan Wayans) so that he can recover the lost loot. The premise for comedy herein was ingenious supplying so many avenues to choose. And, the Wayans brothers chose all of them: crude, lewd, and shrewd. With some fun cameos and great casting, strong acting, and a good premise, the result, unfortunately, simply was uneven.
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