I Wish I Were Big...

Or older. Or better yet, taller. These were the wishes of my childhood past.

When I was a teenager, I wore clothes that made me look double my age. In UP, I can’t forget my BFF Babs asking me why I wore frilly dresses and laced blouses for school. All my female classmates in Eng’g wore staple jeans and simple cotton shirts. I don’t know if she was embarrassed walking in the campus with me because I looked like her mom, but she stayed by my side anyways, so I guess she thought I passed as her younger tita, so keri na rin. Honestly, I felt jeans and t-shirts would make me look juvenile (ok, yagit na rin!).  I wanted to appear more sophisticated, less innocent perhaps?

UK Babydoll Dress
Keds Sneakers

Fast forward to my mid-forty years. The Daughter often scrutinizes the way I dress up. She thinks that sometimes, my choice of wardrobe is skewed to the teenybopper era. No, I’m still not your T-shirt kinda gal, but my eyes light up when I see babydoll dresses and short skirts. I always think that I can still pull it off, but Issa snaps her fingers at me and says,  “Mom, wake up. Not age-appropriate!” Sensya na anak, nagdadalaga ulit! Ha ha.

Now that I feel old age creeping behind me, I’m wishing and singing a different tune. I wish I were as healthy and as supple as I was twenty years ago. No wrinkles. No sunspots. No fibrocystic breasts.

Fairy godmother, will this wishing ever end?

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Movie Recall: Big (1988)

The Story: Josh, a thirteen-year old boy, makes a wish at a fairground fortune telling machine to be big after he was told he was too short for a carnival ride. He wakes up the following morning to find that his wish has been granted and he is 30 years old overnight. Inside, he is still the same boy. 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. In the end, he decides to do what is best for his happiness.

My Review: This movie is officially one of the most memorable comedy movies for me. First of all, I watched it on a special screening sponsored by my first ever org in UP, the IE Club. Second, Tom Hanks was still the gorgeous and cute young actor who perfectly portrayed a twelve-year old boy trapped in a body of an adult. Third, it was the time that I realized that the mantra, “Be careful what you wish for” should be taken seriously. After watching the movie, I couldn’t help but feel thankful of the blessings that I have, and just wished that the blessings would not come pouring down, but just trickling in.

Trivia:

Tom Hanks was the first choice to play Josh Baskin but was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with the films Dragnet and Punchline. Robert De Niro was then offered the lead role, and was rejected because his salary demand ($6 million) was too high. Tom Hanks then became available and accepted the lead role for $2 million. David Moscow was originally cast not as young Josh, but as Billy, since he didn't look like Robert De Niro. When Tom Hanks was given the role, David Moscow was recast as young Josh.

To give star Tom Hanks an idea of how a 12 year-old would behave, director Penny Marshall filmed each "grown-up" scene with David Moscow (Young Josh) playing Tom Hanks's part, who then copied David Moscow's behavior.

According to actor Robert Loggia, on the day they filmed the famous keyboard scene at F.A.O. Schwarz, he and Tom Hanks noticed that doubles dressed like them were on hand just in case the two could not do the dance moves correctly. It became their goal to do the entire keyboard number without the aid of the doubles. They succeeded.

This is why I've always regretted not taking piano lessons!