Little Man
I always like to be fair and give all films an even shake. I’m not one to automatically discredit a film because of who made it or who stars in it before I see the thing. So when I hear that the makers of White Chicks (which I haven’t seen) are in charge of Little Man (which I’ve only now seen because it came on this morning on Movie Central), I don’t instantly run for the hills. I explore, I test the waters and I engage myself in the film.
Little Man was directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, mastermind behind such films as Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2 and the aforementioned White Chicks. Wayans wrote Little Man as well, together with star Shawn Wayans. Marlon Wayans also stars in the film as Calvin, the “dwarf criminal” (so aptly summarized on IMDB).
With that in mind, the plot is rather simple and involves many grown adults (some of which are supposed to be in intelligent positions, like the doctor) completely missing the obvious. Calvin is a miniature thief that comes up with a scheme with his brother, played by the remarkable thespian Tracy Morgan, to get their hands on a big diamond. Calvin has to hide out in a house, disguised as an infant, in order to get close to the rock. He parks in front of the Edwards’ house and we’re in for a comic treat. The Edwards’, Darryl (Shawn Wayans) and Vanessa (Kerry Washington), end up falling for the little guy and all sorts of hilarious situations ensue. Yes, I was being sarcastic.
Little Man milks every gag for all its worth, relying on absolute morons to float its ridiculous premise. Nothing even comes close to becoming interesting here, as everyone merely assumes that Calvin is actually a baby for the majority of the film. Instead of offering us scenes of character confusion prompted by this ugly looking “baby”, we get all sorts of misplaced and awkward sight gags that really don’t work at all. Some of the moments have potential, sadly, and Keenen Ivory Wayans seems so inept at capturing them that you’ve got to wonder what he’s doing behind the camera.
Basically the film is crappy. The good news is that I think they know it’s crappy, so you’re not stuck with a pile of pretentious wannabe arthouse trash that tries too hard to please a narrow audience. Instead, the worst offense Little Man commits is knowing its audience too well and overdoing it a bit. While it’s certainly not a film I’m going to see again or wish on anyone else to see that I know of, it’s also far from as repugnant as some of the tripe that makes its way out.
Little Man overdoes most of its jokes, doesn’t really invest in new material and actually ducks a lot of the potential for gross-out to keep a lower profile and a low rating (it’s only PG in Canada). The film is essentially a compilation of clips that work as a sort of mock America’s Funniest Home Videos, as you have several groin shots and lots of objects smacking people around. There’s some “babies” grabbing boobs and some farting in the tub. That’s your ballgame, folks. Little Man is a simple, unfunny but harmless film with not a lot to say, but guess what elitists? It doesn’t have to say a damn thing.
Trailer:
