Unpleasant and nasty (Little Man (DVD))

Member Name: dee778

Product:	Little Man (DVD)
Date:	01/11/09 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Bad taste, nauseating humour, terrible script

I approached this film with a mixture of loathing, fear and revulsion. I was not disappointed! The whole idea of a very tiny, but fully formed man, pretending to be a baby for a childless couple is wrong on so many counts - but when you add the delightful mixture of nauseating faeces jokes, misogyny and a type of date rape, then it all becomes just too much!

The plot is very simple. An unfeasibly small criminal called Calvin Sims (played by Marlon Wayans) steals an equally unfeasibly large diamond, with the aid of his brother Percy. Chased by gangsters, he panics and hides the diamond in the handbag of attractive businesswoman Vanessa. Vanessa's husband Darryl desperately wants a baby, and Calvin takes advantage of the couples' uncertain parenting desires by dressing up in a babygrow and nappy so that he can pretend to be an abandoned baby, join their household and get his diamond back.

The special effects are the only impressive thing about this film, as Marlon Wayans' head is digitally transposed onto the body of child actor Linden Porco in a horribly convincing way. The sight of a mature man's head on a baby's body, staring lasciviously up at a woman's breasts during the nappy change is not something I would ever want to see again. There is something so offensive about the innocence of a toddling child's body, with a lecherous man's head attached that it makes you recoil in horror.

The 'hilarious' plot gives many opportunities for small boy bottom and breast type jokes, as Calvin attempts to breastfeed from Vanessa's ample mammaries; takes granddad's cookie and wipes it thoroughly under his armpits and over his crotch and bottom, before returning it to the dish; and gives an amazingly realistic portrayal of a person with diarrhoea (sound effects galore) as he attempts to pass the diamond through his digestive tract. Other delights include a dog urinating on the baby's face and the baby jumping into bed to have sex with Vanessa while she is asleep, after having watched the couple making love with a look of lip smacking delight on his face.

'Little Man' has no real acting; it relies heavily on meaningful looks by Marlon, slurping lip slapping at any mention of sex, and visual slapstick humour. Shawn Wayans is meant to play the foil to the main character of Calvin, but his portrayal of Darryl reveals his appalling acting skills, and instead of playing the straight man to increase the comedic effect, he is merely an irritating and unnecessary addition to the cast, portraying stupidity in such a wooden way that he takes all the comedy out of the role. John Witherspoon puts in the best comic performance as the outraged granddad, 'Pops', and Kerry Washington is completely wasted as Vanessa (later proving her ability in 'Lakeview Terrace' and 'The Last King of Scotland').

The film was written by the Wayans brothers (Keenen, Shawn and Marlon) and stars Marlon as Calvin and Shawn as his brother Percy. Shawn and Marlon are known for acting together is similar comedies such as 'White Chicks' and 'Scary Movie'. Marlon also directed 'White Chicks' and wrote and produced it with his two brothers, and this involvement seems to be the kiss of death for his films; the act of writing the film enables Marlon Wayans to take bad taste to new levels, earning him the mockery of critics and the disgust of the majority of the audience. Extra features on the dvd show the viewer deleted scenes of an even more disgusting nature, and the added bonus of a chortling Wayans brothers talking about how much fun they had thinking up these scenes. The brothers obviously have a unique sense of humour that is really not shared by anybody over the age of 12.

Little Man was released in 2006
It is rated a 12, and is probably suitable for this age group.

Summary: Avoid at all costs