Hall as always is a dynamo and clearly enjoys her turn as the self-centered heel at the start and Martin remarkably proficient and poised for a younger performer, together create a surprisingly fluid if emotionally lop-sided performance. This no fault of their own as both the predictable transformation the character goes through happens rapidly in the last ten minutes. As does Rae's mousy April, Rae is always captivating but it isn't particularly enjoyable to watch her play such a tentative semi-loser and the moments she really brightens up and lets it loose are few and far between. Her character development similarly comes truncated in the final moments of the movie. Not the fault of the performers, all are pretty stellar and give their all, but with the script and it's pacing.
The costuming is wonderful, colorful, stylish, and really enhances the playfulness of the story. Unfortunately the other design elements are more functional rather than inspired. But it's the story itself that really under-delivers. The formula is a playful inversion of 1988's Big and as a conciet has significant potential. Unfortunately the the emotional journeys of Jordan and April are totally back loaded, this magical bizarre event seemingly do not change them in the slightest until the very end in a very convenient, truncated, saccharine finish. The story basically meanders to the transformation and meanders through 13 year old Jordan being pretty awful and learning nothing and April being meek for so long by the time they change it's almost too late. And at an almost two hour run time the pacing feels almost glacial.
A wonderful idea and a stellar cast fails to excel because of a poor undisciplined script.
Stream It.
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