''Little Man'' is a 2006 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

written, produced and directed by

Keenen Ivory Wayans Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans (born June 8, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is a member of the Wayans family of entertainers. Wayans first came to prominence as the host and the creator of the 1990–1994 Fox sketch comedy ...

, and also written and produced by Wayans Brothers Marlon and

Shawn Wayans Shawn Mathis Wayans (born January 19, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Along with his brother Marlon Wayans, he wrote and starred in The WB's sitcom ''The Wayans Bros.''(1995–1999) and in the comedy films '' Don't Be a ...

, who also both starred in the lead roles. The film co-stars

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

John Witherspoon John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense real ...

, Tracy Morgan,

Lochlyn Munro Lochlyn Munro (born February 12, 1966) is a Canadian actor. His most notable film roles include ''A Night at the Roxbury'' (1998), ''Scary Movie'' (2000), ''Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), ''White Chicks'' (2004), '' The Predator'' (2018) and ''Cosm ...

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an American ...

and Molly Shannon. A very short jewel thief hides the proceeds of his latest robbery, and then pretends to be a very large baby in order to retrieve it. The film was theatrically released in the United States on July 14, 2006 to commercial success but largely negative reviews, including three

Golden Raspberry Awards The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

Plot

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, Calvin "Babyface" Simms is a very short convicted jewel thief. He is seen getting released from prison and meeting up with his goofball cohort Percy. Percy tells Calvin of a job involving stealing a valuable diamond, ordered by a mobster named Mr. Walken. After the successful robbery, the duo are almost arrested by the police, but not before Calvin manages to stash the diamond in the purse of a nearby woman. The thieves follow the handbag's owner to her home where they discover a couple, Darryl and Vanessa Edwards, the former of whom is eager to have a child. Calvin and Percy hatch a plot to pass Calvin off as a baby left on the couple's doorstep in order to get the diamond back. After learning that Child Services is closed for the weekend, Darryl and Vanessa decide to look after Calvin in the meantime. However, Vanessa's dad Francis "Pops" has a bad feeling about Calvin. Friends of the couple find Calvin strange as well. Despite this, Calvin eventually takes a liking to having a family and starts to feel remorse for using them, especially when they throw him a birthday party (coincidentally on his actual birthday) as Calvin never had parents who’d throw him a party. Walken grows impatient and demands the diamond from Percy. Percy attempts to recover Calvin by posing as his father, but is thrown out by Darryl. Walken's men witness this altercation and as a result believe that Darryl is Calvin. Darryl and Vanessa decide to adopt Calvin but upon coming home from a date, they find Pops and Calvin getting into a clash as the former has discovered Calvin's secret. Pops is sent to a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple in ...

, but before leaving he tells Darryl to "check the teddy bear", referring to a gift he gave to Calvin earlier at his party. Darryl discovers the bear is actually a nanny cam and witnesses Calvin admit to his deception. Walken and his henchmen come by the house after Percy lies to get out of trouble; claiming that Darryl is his partner who has the diamond. In a series of comedic maneuvers, Calvin manages to rescue Darryl and have Walken and his men 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. As Calvin walks away, he begins to cry hysterically knowing he will miss the family very much. Darryl then decides to let Calvin stay and 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.

Cast

Production

The story premise was lifted from a 1954

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...

cartoon called ''

Baby Buggy Bunny ''Baby Buggy Bunny'' is a 1954 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' animated short directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon was released on December 18, 1954, and stars Bugs Bunny. The story is about a short gangster named ...

'', in which Bugs takes in a foundling unaware that he is actually a wanted dwarf bank robber. Filming began in the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

area on September 17, 2005, and finished on January 21, 2006. The scenes with Calvin Simms were played twice: once by nine year old 75 cm (2 ft 6 in) tall

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

actor Linden Porco together with the other actors, and once by

Marlon Wayans Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Wayans began his career portraying a pedestrian in '' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'' (1988). He went on to regularly collaborate with his brother Shawn W ...

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

* "My House" by Lloyd Banks and

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

* " Ridin'" by

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began his ...

and

Krayzie Bone Anthony Henderson (born June 17, 1973), better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper, singer, producer, and entrepreneur. He is a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Personal life Henderson comes from a fourth generation fami ...

* "The Message" by Echo & the Bunnymen * "Movin' on Up" by Jeff Berry and Ja'net Dubois * "Celebration" by Robert Kool Bell * " Home Sweet Home/Bittersweet Symphony" by

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

* "Lifetime" by

Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of ...

* "In This Moment" by

Ill Niño Ill Niño (stylized as ill niño) is an American metal band formed in Union City, New Jersey, in 1998 by drummer and percussionist Dave Chavarri. They have released seven studio albums, two EPs and one compilation album, totaling in over 1.3 mi ...

* "Purple Haze" by

* "Buddy (D-Rex Theme Song)" by

Dwayne Wayans Dwayne Howell Wayans (born July 20, 1956) is an American writer and film score composer. He is a member of the Wayans family. Early life Wayans was born in New York City, the son of Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker and social worker, and Ho ...

and

Eric Willis Sir Eric Archibald Willis (15 January 1922 – 10 May 1999) was an Australian politician, Cabinet Minister and the 34th Premier of New South Wales, serving from 23 January 1976 to 14 May 1976. Born in Murwillumbah in 1922, Willis was educated ...

* "Best Friend" by

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

* "

Pump It "Pump It" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fourth studio album '' Monkey Business'' (2005). It was written by group members will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Fergie, and produced by will.i.am. The song heavily incorpor ...

" by

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...

* "

Happy Birthday to You "Happy Birthday to You", also known as "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognised song in the English language, followed by " Fo ...

" by

Mildred J. Hill Mildred Jane Hill (June 27, 1859 – June 5, 1916) was an American songwriter and musicologist, who composed the melody for "Good Morning to All", later used as the melody for "Happy Birthday to You". Biography Mildred Jane Hill, born in Louisvil ...

and Patty S. Hill * "

Praise You "Praise You" is a song by British big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released as the third single from his second studio album, ''You've Come a Long Way, Baby'' (1998), on 4 January 1999. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and in ...

" by

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist ...

* " Candy Shop" (instrumental) by

and Olivia

Reception

Box office

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

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

on September 1, 2006, and opened on #2, behind '' You, Me and Dupree''.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has an approval rating of 12% based on reviews from 90 critics. 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." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a score of 26 out 100 based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "Generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F. The film received a 4.2 out of 10 on "

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

". Slant Magazine gave the film a 1.5 out of 4. In an especially scathing review on BBC Radio 5 Live

Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine '' Sight & Sound'', pr ...

described the film as "possessed by the devil".

Awards

The film was nominated for seven 2006

: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (

), Worst Actor (

Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider (; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', he went on to a career in feature films, including starri ...

, also nominated for his performance in '' The Benchwarmers''), Worst Director (

), Worst Screen Couple (

& EITHER

), Worst Screenplay and Worst Remake or Rip-off (of the 1954

cartoon ''

''). It later won three of the awards, Worst Actor, Worst Screen Couple and Worst Remake or Rip-off.

Home media

The film was released on Blu-ray, UMD 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 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...

.www.dvdsreleasedates.com
- ''DVD Release Dates - Little Man (2006)''. June 30, 2018

References

External links

* * * * {{Navboxes , title = Awards for ''Little Man'' , list1 = {{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor {{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel {{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Combo 2006 films 2000s crime comedy films African-American films American crime comedy films Films directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans Films scored by Teddy Castellucci Films set in Chicago Films shot in Vancouver Columbia Pictures films Revolution Studios films 2006 comedy films Golden Raspberry Award winning films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films