Tom Hanks’awe-inspiring range can easily be seen thanks to films like Cast Away, Forrest Gump, and possibly one of best rom-coms of all time, You’ve Got Mail. While these are the more obvious choices from Tom Hanks’ extensive filmography, his 1998 film Big is kind of a hidden gem.
Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins in a comedy where an adolescent boy wishes to physically transform into an adult. As his dream comes true thanks to an antique fortune-telling machine, he goes through the ups and downs of the adult life he so badly desired. While the film was met with critical acclaim, it also faced backlash for one questionable scene.
The Controversial Scene between Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins
Despite the fact that Tom Hanks’ character, Josh Baskin, turns into an adult overnight, he is still essentially the twelve-year-old boy in a grown-up body. During Josh’s endeavor as an adult, he meets Susan Lawrence played by Elizabeth Perkins. The two begin a romantic relationship and here’s where the controversy starts.
At one point, the film implies that Josh and Susan shared an intimate moment together. Now, given the obvious disturbing elements of the scene, we can see why it was controversial. Even Perkins had a tough time filming the scene which director Penny Marshall made sure to make as ambiguous as possible. Talking to New York Post, Perkins stated,
“To put these people in bed and actually have them have s*x, where do you draw the line? She can’t have s*x with a 13-year-old. And yet, the next morning when you see him, you get the impression [from his happy expression] that they slept together, or that he has been s*xually fulfilled somehow. But it’s that very, very fine line of, the audience always knows he’s a 13-year-old, but the [other characters] do not.”
What makes the supposed s*xual contact even more disturbing is the fact that Susan eventually learns that Josh is actually a child and realizes the problematic nature of whatever apparently happened between them.
Elizabeth Perkins was Called a P*edophile Because of the Film
Often forgetting the line between real and reel, the audience tends to target the actors for something done by their characters. Adding to the extensive list of examples of the same is when Perkins was called a p*dophile for her role as Susan in Big.
While Susan had absolutely no idea that Josh was an adolescent, fans didn’t think twice before shaming Perkins. Talking to The Guardian, the actress stated,
“Oh, I know. I’ve been called a pedophile. You know, I get it. The only thing I can say is, it was a different time. It was the Eighties; it was not viewed through that lens and I get that it is being viewed through that lens now… If you look at it in the movie, it was sort of used as a joke. Here he is the next morning, the elevator door opens and he bounces out like: ‘Wow, I just had my first s*xual experience.’ It was a setup for a joke that today would not be acceptable.”
Do you think Perkins deserved to be called a p*dophile?
Regardless, Big went on to make ‘Big’ waves in the film industry. The film received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Actor (Hanks) and the other for Best Original Screenplay. While they weren’t victorious in either category, Hanks did bag a Golden Globe for his performance.
You can stream Big on Disney+.
Source: New York Post
