REVIEW: Marsai Martin is the youngest executive in Hollywood. At the tender age of ten, the star of the hit TV show BLACK-ISH pitched her boss Kenya Barris an idea for a movie called LITTLE, in which a big time tech boss would wake up morning to find herself reverted to her younger self, tasked with running a company from the stance of a tiny little teenager. Martin's boss loved the idea, and the rest, as they say, is history. Now, Martin herself not only stars in the Tina Gordon directed film opposite Regina Hall, she also serves as an executive producer on the project, which hits theaters this weekend across the globe.
Anyone who has lived through the '80s ought to be familiar with this trope. The FREAKY FRIDAY body swapping scenario has popped up in a plethora of film prouductions since then, including titles like 18 AGAIN!, LIKE FATHER LIKE SON, 13 GOING ON 30, 17 AGAIN, and perhaps most notably, BIG. Martin cites the latter as the most specific inspiration for her movie LITTLE, as the Tom Hanks led comedy happened to her mother's favorite movie while she was growing up. To Martin, the idea of flipping the script on its head would not only be an interesting story if told from a woman's perspective, but specifically an African American's perspective, thus turning a story about a boy trying to be a man into a tale of female empowerment.
On this note, LITTLE is a success for no other reason than the fact that it's nice to see a recognizable narrative told from a different perspective. After all, Hollywood tends to regurgitate the same rom-com storylines every few years, so head honchos could at least do us moviegoers the courtesy of switching it up a bit every now and then. Tech boss Jordan Sanders (Martin/Hall) may be a terror to watch, but at least this time, we get to see the scary big nightmare boss shout insults at her colleagues while strutting around in some truly spectacular pink Valentino heels.
It's hard to deny it — Martin is a star. When the film works, it's thanks to an excellent cast that vibes well off of each other. This is especially true with little Martin, who brings an air of authenticity to her role from her real life experiences. The girl has been acting since before most of us could write our own names, landing her first gig at age five and working her way up ever since. It makes sense that this old soul wouldn't have any issue playing a mature woman trapped within a little girl's body. It's a difficult task to play the younger role of Jordan Sanders, not only because Martin has to act like an adult, but because she specifically has to act like the CEO of a company, a strict, confident posture that she exudes with sincere authority. In many ways, this is a role Martin was born for, and she shines greatly as she rises to the challenge. From the way she holds her designer bag, to the fiercely skeptical eyes peering out from behind her engulfing glasses, to the ease which with she barks orders at her long abused assistant April Williams (Issa Rae), Maritn does an excellent job convincing viewers that she is actually Regina Hall's character composed within the confines of a young adult.
Unfortunately, what's truly lacking is the comedy. The laughs are few and far between, despite Hall, Rae, and Martin's best intentions. This is somewhat surprising given the team behind the scenes, which is comprised of both storyteller Tracy Oliver of GIRLS TRIP and DRUMLINE's Tina Gordon, but the fact remains that the laughs are loosely strung together through a mostly predictable plot and somewhat lengthy runtime. This seems to be due somewhat to the editing, which feels clanky and strange, almost as if there's certain moments when the cutting together of scenes is actually trying to cover up coverage that the narrative is missing. Either way, the hard truth is, when you have a plot that is already so discernible to so many people, you need to have the comedy to back up the storyline, and in LITTLE's case, the comedy just isn't there.