Another gimmicky one-joke comedy from the Wayans brothers (White Chicks) that may not employ quite as much makeup but features lots more special effects, Little Man's gag is achieved through the dubious magic of green-screening, with Marlon Wayans—or at least his head, atop a body double—starring as Calvin, a little person ex-con on the lam after stealing a diamond. Calvin poses as an abandoned baby in order to retrieve the stone from an unwitting childless couple who are willing to take him for the weekend. The lameness of the script, which repeats the same grotesque gags ad nauseam and leans toward ugly slapstick violence, is exceeded only by the ineptitude of the execution, with its shoddy special effects, vaudeville-quality performances, and clumsy direction. Little Man does excel in one area though—minute for minute, it boasts the highest number of punches, kicks, and other assorted injuries to the crotch of (seemingly) any movie ever made. An appalling picture in every conceivable respect, and not even remotely funny, this is not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include an audio commentary (by the sibling production team of director Keenan Ivory Wayans, and costars Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans), 16 deleted and extended scenes (28 min.), a 15-minute “Big Comedy” making-of featurette, a “From the Ground Up” visual effects featurette (15 min.), an 11-minute “Linden's World” featurette on child body double Linden Porco, a tongue-in-cheek “Method or Madness” featurette on real “Method” acting, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a dud comedy.] (F. Swietek)
Little Man
Sony, 98 min., PG-13, DVD: $28.99, Nov. 7 Volume 21, Issue 6
Little Man
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