Little Man (2006 film)

Plot

The film starts off with Calvin "Babyface" Simms (Marlon Wayans) who is a very short convict. He is seen getting released and planning a robbery to steal a diamond with the help of his goofball cohort Percy (Tracy Morgan). After the successful robbery, the duo are almost arrested, but not before Calvin manages to stash the diamond in a nearby woman's purse. The thieves follow the handbag's owner to her home where they discover a couple, Darryl (Shawn Wayans) and Vanessa Edwards (Kerry Washington), who are eager to have a child.

Calvin and Percy hatch a plot to pass Calvin off as a baby left on the couple's doorstep. After seeing Calvin, Darryl and Vanessa, wanting a child, immediately adopt the baby as their own. However, Vanessa's dad Francis "Pops" (John Witherspoon) has a bad feeling about Calvin. Friends of the couple find Calvin odd as well. Soon, Calvin warms up to the family. A local goon named Walken (Chazz Palminteri), discovers the deception and demands the diamond from Percy. Percy arrives at the house that Calvin is staying in, and convinces Walken's henchmen that Darryl is his partner. Walken and his henchmen go to the house and they keep Calvin and Darryl hostage. In a series of comedic maneuvers, Calvin manages to rescue Darryl and have Walken arrested. Darryl is given a substantial reward for the recovery of the diamond, and since Calvin saved his life, he doesn't turn him over to the police.

Before he leaves, Calvin thanks Darryl for taking care of him even though he wasn't really a baby and admits that he thinks Darryl would make a great father for a real child someday. Calvin is about to be out of Darryl's life for good, as Darryl watches him leave. Calvin is crying hysterically, so Darryl decides to let Calvin stay and from that point on, the two men become the best of friends. The film ends at some point in the future with Calvin and Pops playing with Darryl and Vanessa's real baby, who looks exactly like Darryl (Shawn Wayans's face superimposed on that of the baby). And they all lived happily ever after.

Cast

Production

Filming began in the Vancouver area on September 17, 2005 and finished on January 21, 2006.

The scenes with Calvin Sims were played twice: once by nine-year-old 75 cm (2 ft 6 in) tall dwarf actor Linden Porco together with the other actors, and once by Marlon Wayans alone, using a "bluescreen" technique with a green background and green clothes. In post-production, Porco's head on the images was replaced by that of Marlon. Porco's body was painted brown in order to match Marlon's face. Shawn Wayans' face was also superimposed in the final scene.

Soundtrack

Box office

Little Man film grossed $58,645,052 domestically and a total $101,595,121 worldwide. The film's budget was $64 million.

Critical response

The film received generally negative reviews from movie critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 12% based on 90 reviews. The site's consensus is "Another gimmicky comedy from the Wayans brothers, Little Man comes with the requisite raunchiness, but forgot to bring the laughs.". It currently has a 4.3 out of 10 on IMDb. On Metacritic, based on 22 critics, it received a 26 out of a possible 100. This sites "Generally unfavorable Reviews". The film received a 4.2 out of 10 on "Common Sense Media". Slant Magazine gave the film a 1.5 out of 4.

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD in the United States on November 7, 2006, and also in the United Kingdom on 15 January 2007 and it was distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.