I'm talking about the real deal here.
I bring you
LiTTLE
MAN
IMDB
Brought to you by the famed Wayans Brothers. In 2006 - the world was graced by a film sent straight from heaven, dripping with the god nectar of comedy genius. LiTTLEMAN is to baby-man jokes as Thunderpants is to farting in general. Or rather; a golden display of a funny idea stretched out to it's breaking point. Here's the plot ripped straight from the IMDB:
That's pretty much the jist. The story follows a jewel thief (Calvin, played by Marlon Wayans), who is of course on-the-run from the police. Calvin is a tiny man. This is not thoroughly explained. I was under the general assumption that extreme dwarfism is something that required some form of care/supervision. This is not the case in LiTTLEMAN. Calvin comes onscreen wearing a tailored suit along with tiny leather gloves. Is there a clothing line for little-men, or are these some sort of baby-clothing? I don't believe babies wear tailored suits. Who knows.A wannabe dad mistakes a vertically challenged criminal on the lam as his newly adopted son
Anyways, Calvin steals this huge diamond. To beat the heat, he and his wonderful partner in crime (Played by Tracy Morgan of SNL fame) come up with a genius idea. Calvin goes full-baby. All the way. He's swaddled in a LiTTLE basket and placed on a doorstep in otherwise-white suburbia. He's picked up and taken in by Darryl (Shawn Wayans) and Vanessa (Kerry Washington). Of course, being a couple who thinks this baby will strengthen their relationship - they keep him without notifying the police.
The comedic mechanic of this film is that of dramatic irony. You as a viewer know that Calvin is in fact, a LiTTLE MAN. His adoptive parents however, do not. This is despite his generally adult facial features - as well as his deep voice. There are many scenes of Calvin breaking his baby-facade and yelling obscenities in his adult voice. There is overwhelming evidence that Calvin is in fact, not a baby. Around every corner. Like, every fucking scene of this movie. Is this a message from the Wayans Bros about the current state of parenting? Food for thought.
Moving on,
You have these supporting characters that come in. Like, there's the caucasian neighbors. Of course they're unforgivably white. There's also a cameo from MadTV allstar Alex Borstein as Janet, the career-mom baby-expert. Of course, Calvin fools her too.
I would like to get into the "Pops" character (Played by John Witherspoon of Friday 1995 fame), who appears fairly early on in the movie. Though, I think i might give away too many surprises.
Hidden Information!
The all-around theme and feel of the movie is unique. Most baby-centric movies i've seen present the protagonist baby as a heroic character. Baby's Day out, Addams Family Values, etc. Calvin of course is more like a complex villain (think Darth Vader). Sort of bad, but has a chance to pull through as a decent human being. Now that I think about it, this is actually a story leaning towards redemption. Calvin is torn between two worlds. One, being a jewel thief. The other, being a successful baby impersonator.
The film is pretty even-handed with the slapstick. Of course as you'd expect - Calvin puts the hurt on the other characters. Especially his new dad, Darryl. Mostly towards the male characters. This is mostly because 90% of the female characters in the movie are objects of extreme lust and eroticism by Calvin. There's a few shots of Calvin salivating and staring at women's breast, gesturing that he want's 'some of mommys milky'. Actually, I think he says that in a baby-voice in one part. As far as the even-handed slapstick, the film has numerous scenes of Calvin being assaulted/abused/humiliated with baby-treatment.
Oh, and (spoiler)
Hidden Information!
FOR THE THEATRICAL TRAILER - CLICK HERE
Here's the 'Feeding' scene. Classic slapstick at it's finest!
And, my personal favorite
If you have Netflix, please put this in your queue.
