Female Filmmaker Week!

To start out the week we wanted to discuss a stone-cold classic that happens to be directed by a woman.

“Big" is written and directed by Penny Marshall who you may know from her other films such as “A League of Their Own”, “Awakenings", or possibly her work as an actress as the titular Laverne in “Laverne and Shirley”.

After her work on the small screen, Marshall moved behind the camera and onto the big screen with her directorial debut “Jumpin Jack Flash” starring Whoopi Goldberg; a critical disappointment amongst critics but praised for Goldberg’s performance.

Even despite critical responses, it did just well enough with audiences to make it a (modest) financial hit and give Marshall the cachet to direct another film… this is that film.

Marshall’s strongest suit as a filmmaker is her ability to create fun, zany characters who are just bizarre enough to be compelling without overtaking the movie and its classical style of filmmaking with their eccentricities. The way she’d pull these performances out of her actors is with her signature brand of honest, harsh feedback.

Any actor who has worked with Marshall will tell you she puts you through the wringer, but you come out the other side a more well-rounded performer. Mark Wahlberg would even go on to say he went to the “Penny Marshall school of acting”.

So with all that being said, “Big” may be her crowning jewel; an 80s classic that turned Tom Hanks into a movie star and earned him his first Oscar nomination. That’s a rare occurrence when even the Academy can’t help but recognize such a great and out-of-the-box performance.

As you watch this, think about Hank’s performance and the freedom an actor needs to feel comfortable making these choices.