Tom Hanks started on the path to superstardom in this family favourite from 1988. The closing years of the decade played host to two intergenerational body swap "comedies" - Vice Versa with Judge Reinhold and Like Father, Like Son with Dudley Moore respectively. Big went the whole hog by having a kid actually transform into an adult via a magic carnival attraction, and blew them out the water. Hanks played Josh, whose wish to gain height was utterly misinterpreted by plastic fortune teller Zoltar. Waking the next morning with a pronounced inability to fit into his trousers, he went on to become a wiz at the local toy outfit. One of its defining scenes showed Josh tapping out a tune on a giant keyboard alongside the benevolent but strangely sinister boss Mr MacMillan, played by screen heavy Robert Loggia. Little did he suspect his new employee of the month had only just gotten the hang of shaving.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
