I Know How You Feel
13 Going on 30 was destined to be compared to Big, and rightly so. The reason 13 works in its own right, is that it approaches the high-concept part of the concept from a totally different--and, some might say--more accessible angle.
The kid's motivations in Big were to be, well, big. To get bigger faster; to grow up. The rest of the film then deals with the central conceit of the kid adapting to life as an adult, without have gotten there naturally. There's a lot of stuff he just doesn't get, and there's a lot of stuff that's painful for him. Sometimes he just wants his mom. The tension comes from being physically an adult, but a child inside.
In 13, the young girl wants to be cool and popular. She dreams of the day when she's 30 and has her shit together. And when that instantly happens, of course, she too has some adult-but-thinks-like-a-kid moments. We'd be disappointed if she didn't. But the story actually focuses on a different central tension than Big... in 13, the key tension comes from the deep regret our girl feels about the decisions she made with she was 13 (and beyond). She's 30, she's hot, she's got a dream job... and she slowly realizes she doesn't like herself. She has to face that it was her own actions that made her this way.
No, I'm not going to argue against Big, here. It's a favourite. But the key tension--he's a kid in an adult's body--isn't one I can relate to. Jennifer Garner's regret-- that, I can relate to. Who hasn't gotten to 30 and thought about all the different paths their life could have taken? I think 13 Going on 30 did what it had to do: it took this concept and explored an entirely different theme, and a well-chosen theme at that.
The lesson? Think carefully about who's going to relate to your characters, and how. Remember, lots of people out there can't sit through an episode of The Office-- it's too painful.
13 Going on 30 was destined to be compared to Big, and rightly so. The reason 13 works in its own right, is that it approaches the high-concept part of the concept from a totally different--and, some might say--more accessible angle.
The kid's motivations in Big were to be, well, big. To get bigger faster; to grow up. The rest of the film then deals with the central conceit of the kid adapting to life as an adult, without have gotten there naturally. There's a lot of stuff he just doesn't get, and there's a lot of stuff that's painful for him. Sometimes he just wants his mom. The tension comes from being physically an adult, but a child inside.
In 13, the young girl wants to be cool and popular. She dreams of the day when she's 30 and has her shit together. And when that instantly happens, of course, she too has some adult-but-thinks-like-a-kid moments. We'd be disappointed if she didn't. But the story actually focuses on a different central tension than Big... in 13, the key tension comes from the deep regret our girl feels about the decisions she made with she was 13 (and beyond). She's 30, she's hot, she's got a dream job... and she slowly realizes she doesn't like herself. She has to face that it was her own actions that made her this way.
No, I'm not going to argue against Big, here. It's a favourite. But the key tension--he's a kid in an adult's body--isn't one I can relate to. Jennifer Garner's regret-- that, I can relate to. Who hasn't gotten to 30 and thought about all the different paths their life could have taken? I think 13 Going on 30 did what it had to do: it took this concept and explored an entirely different theme, and a well-chosen theme at that.
The lesson? Think carefully about who's going to relate to your characters, and how. Remember, lots of people out there can't sit through an episode of The Office-- it's too painful.
posted by Jennica at 10:07 a.m.
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