MovieChat Forums > Big (1988) Discussion > Why does his girlfriend just BELIEVE whe...

Why does his girlfriend just BELIEVE when she sees him @ the machine?

posted 13 years ago by Magic93
18 replies | jump to latest

I mean, really? Nobody in their right mind would believe in something so insane, it's physically impossible. She'd obviously just think he was completely insane or just trying to get out of their relationship or whatever. Seeing her boyfriend a carnival wish-granting machine doesn't automatically mean she'll accept that the machine grants f!cking magical wishes and that her b/f is a 13-year-old stuck in a man's body.

What would you have thought if you were the g/f? There's no way you would believe that, right?
_____
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[–] Minus_The_Beer 13 years ago

I think the idea is that everything "clicked" for her in that moment; his childish behavior, poor performance in bed, etc. was explained very well by the fact that he was only 13. That, and you have to suspend a bit of disbelief for these kinds of movies.

[–] certificateoflivedickens 13 years ago

I dunno, I've used the "I'm really 13, I swear!" excuse after many poor performances in bed, but it's never gotten me off the hook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItMJtA8vfpw

[–] TheMociety 12 years ago

LOL

That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.

[–] stevenackerman69 12 years ago

I think she realizes he is telling the truth after all. She didn't believe him at first, remember? Then she saw the machine he was talking about and described so she figured he was telling the truth. And she saw the card that came out and realized he got his wish.

[–] Helenlaurence 9 years ago

It's a fantasy film!

[–] karlhinze 9 years ago

The moment Paul asks if she really thinks a kid would pay $18.95 (or whatever the amount was) for a comic book was when she realised. She says "I think a kid..." and then stops because it suddenly becomes apparent that Josh really is a child. All his feedback on new toys (for which he gets paid), the way he acts, the fact that he himself would pay that amount for a comic book... it suddenly all makes sense.

It wasn't the fact that she saw him at the machine. She went looking for him as soon as it all became clear.

Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoile

[–] PopperTheKungFu-Dragon 9 years ago

I don't get that part about the price of the comic book. It seems like its at that precise moment that she realizes he was telling the truth and I was waiting for it to be explained further, but nothing happened.

What does the price of the comic book have to do with him being a kid 

R.I.P. Rick Ducommun and Tony Longo

[–] karlhinze 9 years ago

Because she realises that Josh knows so much about being a kid, and what a kid wants, because he is one himself.

Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoile

[–] PopperTheKungFu-Dragon 9 years ago

But would a kid pay so much for a comic book as Paul asks?

What was it that she was going to say before she dashed off?

R.I.P. Rick Ducommun and Tony Longo

[–] karlhinze 9 years ago

But would a kid pay so much for a comic book as Paul asks?

Yes.

What was it that she was going to say before she dashed off?

We don't know - but we can only assume that she was going to say something along the lines of "I think a kid would pay that sort of money for a comic book, yes".

What you've got to remember is what Josh did for the business and how he started to turn it around. MacMillan was clearly struggling to keep up with the times. He was getting old and tired and the staff were running out of ideas, as we could see when Paul was demonstrating his new transformer toy.

I saw a scene from the extended cut very recently where MacMillan was talking to Josh in his office, and MacMillan was getting frustrated with the way things were going. He even brought out an out-sourced report on how to make toys aimed at kids over the age of 12, which he said isn't possible. Josh looked at him puzzled, in disagreement.

Having Josh in the company was perfect for them because he could see the world through the eyes of a 13-year-old - something that they couldn't do before. Susan realised this when Paul asked the question in the meeting - Yes, a kid would pay $19 for a comic book. She knew this because Josh would do just that. Josh had already told her that he was 13, and it just clicked suddenly and all made sense.

Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoile

[–] SDmovielover 8 years ago

I've seen this movie many times, and I never interpreted her reaction in this scene as strictly as you did. I think the girlfriend came to the realization that he was dead serious that he was really thirteen, somehow, but not necessarily by the crazy 'make a wish with a quarter' method. Her expression was one of just 'acceptance' at that point. Maybe he had a growth disorder that made him grow faster, but his brain was just 13. Maybe he was severely held back by something terrible in childhood (confinement, severe abuse, etc) that convinced him he might as well be only 13, and he used the Zoltar machine as a prop for his emotions. She accepted at least that much in this scene, because he just left an important meeting to run after a stupid machine at a vacant park. I think she got about 75% there in believing him at this point.

We know this because in the final scene, the look on her face is absolute surprise when she actually sees this man convert into a boy. Only after the 'surprise' look do we see the 'awe, he's adorable and the Zoltar machine thing is a real thing look'. I don't think that surprise look would be there if he already had her 100% with just the Zoltar scene - she wouldn't have been surprised at all.

[–] king_of_bob 8 years ago

She doesn't REALLY believe until she sees him transform at the end of the movie. It's pretty hard not to believe when you literally see him change from a 30 year old back into a 13 year old in front of your own eyes.

But really, it just makes sense when she looks back over their interactions.

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[–] Dan_Garten 8 years ago

Yeah.

[–] Strannger (2007) 7 years ago

It was the ending. Josh turns into a kid and returns home. Susan looks out the window to see him as a kid again.

[–] hurricane (1907) 5 years ago

Nobody would get a wish granted on an arcade machine either. Nobody would got to bed as a 13 year old and wake up as a 30 year old the next morning. An arcade machine wouldn't magically be able to work and grant wishes when it wasn't plugged in.

Movies like this require a bit of suspension of disbelief.

[–] sslssg (27397) 5 years ago

Aww, next you're going to say that you can't switch bodies with your parents, or grandparents, and that you can't electrocute yourself and the hear what the opposite sex thinks.

I had such high hopes. 🤔

[–] hurricane (1907) 5 years ago

The last one you can do.

What Women Want is a documentary.

[–] sslssg (27397) 5 years ago

Eh, not really my thing as I know what this woman wants. I'm still crawling into wardrobes trying to find Narnia. 😄