'Lineage'
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
the entire film takes place in such a candy-colored universe that I kind of go along with the flow.
This
but as long as we're talking about it.
I don't think Josh realized what was happening and as such he never gave informed consent. Unfortunately for Susan, due to the supernatural circumstances she had no reason to question that she was sleeping with an adult. Could a non-fictional person tell that Josh lacked the comprehension of most adults? I think so.
As a former 8th grade teacher, I would say that he was LESS interested in sex than most boys his age.
I agree, Josh as portayed by Hanks seems a lot younger than 13.
he never gave informed consent.
Not possible for a 13 year old anyway.
true, true.
But I remember being 13. Totally would not have turned down sex with a girl my age or with a grown women. Does not change the ick factor, but I'm pretty sure I remember how much I wanted sex at that age.
[and just to make it clear, no I could not have given consent and if an adult had taken advantage it would have been rape. But I would have said yes.]
Consent doesn't count when you're underage. Statutory rape isn't about wanting it or not.
If a woman asked to spend the night would you have known exactly what she meant?
(not saying that makes it OK, saying Hanks played it too young)
saying Hanks played it too young
Maybe the script was written so that the response wasn't what a 13-year-old boy would have made, but Hanks had to play the script he was given.
t edit And I think the script makes it clear that it's a genuine misunderstanding (as well as an opportunity for the screenwriter to make a yuk-yuk-yuk double entendre, durr hurr.)
t edit again Laga, were you talking about the "Do you mean sleep over?" scene? Or the later scene with the actual sexy sex? Because I'm referring to the "Do you mean sleep over?" scene.
I had no interest in sex whatsoever until I was 15.
In response to Big, is it a prevailing opinion that a thirteen year old (chronologically and mentally) having sex with an adult woman is icky?
When I first saw Big, I don't think it pinged me at all, and I was around the age Josh would have been. I did not know what sex really was, though, and I think that part went mostly over my head. From my adult perspective, I think that 1) yes it was statutory rape, even if she was not a knowing perpetrator and 2) yes, it's a little odd and creepy. But I don't think it's out of character for a 13 yo boy who's trying desperately to seem like an adult to be interested in sex and also just go with the flow and not really know what's going on. If I'd been the woman I would have been seriously wigged out and guilt-ridden after finding out.