A young boy makes a wish at a fairground machine to be big. He wakes up the following morning to find that his wish has been granted and his body has grown older over night. But he is still the same 12 year old kid on the inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown ups including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman. What will he find out about this strange world
Review
Saw this movie again recently and found that it stands up well to repeat viewings. Tom Hanks meets a difficult challenge here to convincingly show us how a twelveyear old boy would act if he were trapped in an adults body and had to "pass" in a grownup world. He meets the challenge in spades aided by a script that is by turns witty clever insightful and touching and by Penny Marshalls able direction. Much is added by Robert Loggias sympathetic portrayal of TomJoshs boss and by Jared Rushton as his friend Billy. The movie is much more than an exercise in slapstick or farce it is really a disquisition on the wonder of childhood. In the end it is quite touching if not moving reminding us all of the innocence of youth and the aching sadness of recalling its loss. Too early to tell but the film might very well be destined to become a classic.