Big

Right now you can watch Big in Australia on Disney Plus, and in the US on Disney Plus and Peacock Premium — and it is funnier than its reputation suggests. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Tom Hanks sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. Start it on Disney Plus whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Big is worth clearing space for. Big gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big—he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight. But he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman. Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins lead a cast that never overplays a joke. It hit screens in 1988. Big earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Big is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Tom Hanks's comic timing carries it through its weaker moments. The kind of comedy you recommend to someone who claims they do not watch much.