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Little
Man
Genre: Comedy
Rated: PG-13
Directed by: Keenan Ivory Wayans
Starring: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Tracy Morgan, Kerry
Washington, John Witherspoon, Chazz Palminteri,
Linden Porco, Gabriel Pimental
Released by: Sony Pictures
In
Short: The unexpectedly hilarious story
of a little person ex-con who masquerades as
a toddler is the funniest movie of the summer
so far. Go figure! |
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Big
Laughs for the Little Guy
The
Wayans Brothers in Fine Form
By
Jenny Peters
Talk
about a surprise! Going in to see “Little Man,”
expectations were pretty low. For while the Wayans brothers—Keenan
as director, Marlon and Shawn as stars, all three as screenwriters—have
a funny track record (the “Scary Movie” series,
for example), the premise of “Little Man”
just seemed so wrong.
The
normally full-sized Marlon plays Calvin, a little person
ex-con who pulls off a huge diamond heist, then ditches
the stone in the purse of Vanessa, a driven career woman
(Kerry Washington). In order to get the loot back, he
poses as a foundling toddler, left on the doorstep of
Vanessa and fiancé Darryl's (Shawn Wayans) home,
where the couple embraces him as a sign from God that
they are destined to have children.
Sounds
stupid, for sure. But it only takes about ten minutes
for the flick to take off, with silly sight gags, suburban
satire, and hilarious dialogue that send the audience
into paroxysms of laughter. It's definitely politically
incorrect, often filthy, and completely funny, with priceless
moments like a father-son football game gone awry, and
a baby bath-time sequence that is worth the price of admission
alone.
The
special effects that superimpose Marlon's head onto the
body of two different small men (actors Linden Porco and
Gabriel Pimental) were achieved by shooting two separate
movies. The look is pretty seamless, allowing viewers
to suspend their disbelief and just go with the idea that
Marlon is really that small, quite a feat in itself.
Ironically,
“Little Man's” head-to-head comedy competition
this opening weekend is “You, Me and Dupree,”
starring comic pros Owen Wilson (“Wedding Crashers”)
and Matt Dillon (“There's Something About Mary”).
But—another surprise—their film is nowhere
near as funny as the Wayans brothers' zany flick. So despite
your preconceived notions about the two comedies, “Little
Man” is definitely the superior choice if belly
laughs are what you're looking for in a movie.
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