“Little Man” (Sony Pictures)
Bigger Laughs Than Expected
Watching “Little Man” is like watching a takeoff of the old cartoon “Baby Huey.” Marlon Wayans plays a small person who poses as a baby to steal a huge diamond. When he is in full baby mode he still comes across as strange since he has a full set of teeth, a tattoo and an appendix scar. But in a movie of this type logic never prevails and so the “man as baby” factor is accepted by the adults on the screen.
The movie starts with a jewelry heist engineered by Calvin (Marlon Wayans) and his partner Percy (Tracy Morgan). Calvin is a two and a half foot criminal and can be carried into the jewelry store in a bag. Which is what happens. But then a chihuahua climbs into the bag and brings attention to the two men. They grab a huge diamond but have to flee on foot. They rush into a convenience store and Calvin plants the diamond in a bag belonging to a young couple (Shawn Wayans and Kerry Washington).
In order to get close to the couple Calvin dons baby duds and gets Percy to carry him in a basket to the porch of the house belonging to Daryl and Vanessa (Shawn Wayans and Washington). They find him and take him into their home just as Calvin planned. Now all Calvin has to do is find the diamond and make his getaway, but Daryl and Vanessa are really into this baby thing so he is constantly being watched and cared for.
The movie has a wide variety of jokes. Some of them are tender, some of them are raunchy, some of them are slapstick. Director Keenan Ivory Wayans has a full bag of tricks at his disposal, and a talented cast ready to make them work.
Marlon Wayans is perfect as the man turned baby. He can handle the physical requirement of the role along with the endearing portions. His brother Shawn is good at the comedy and the leading man requirements. Kerry Washington is totally beautiful but also manages to be funny when the situation requires it.
Loclyn Munroe and Brittany Daniels have some good moments as friends of the family, as does Alex Borstein as a friend who dispenses motherly advice. John Witherspoon is interesting as Washington’s father. It is he who finally discovers the truth about “Baby Calvin.”
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and slapstick violence.
“Little Man” is not a perfect movie in any way. There is basically one joke in the plot and that is the man posing as a baby. Still they stretch this one joke into more laughs than you expect. The Wayans Brothers know their way around the comedy scene and this movie demonstrates that fact.
I scored “Little Man” a babysitting 6 out of 10.
