The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Be Big!
Comedy · 1931
Stan and Ollie are on their way to Atlantic City with their wives, when Ollie gets a phone call from a lodge buddy telling him that a stag party is taking place that night in their honor. Ollie pretends to be sick and sends the wives on ahead, promising that he and Stan will meet them in the morning. The pair dress in their lodge gear, but their wives return having missed their train. With no obvious escape route, Stan and Ollie take to a bed in fear and in response to Stan's plea of "What'll I do?", Ollie replies "Be big!".
Movie details
Be Big!
1931 Comedy 28m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.9 / 10
Community rating
Stan and Ollie are on their way to Atlantic City with their wives, when Ollie gets a phone call from a lodge buddy telling him that a stag party is taking place that night in their honor. Ollie pretends to be sick and sends the wives on ahead, promising that he and Stan will meet them in the morning. The pair dress in their lodge gear, but their wives return having missed their train. With no obvious escape route, Stan and Ollie take to a bed in fear and in response to Stan's plea of "What'll I do?", Ollie replies "Be big!".
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Be Big!?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
One Good Turn
Comedy · 1931
Down and out Stan and Ollie beg for food from a friendly old lady who provides them with sandwiches. While eating, they overhear the lady's landlord tell her he's going to throw her out because she can't pay her mortgage. They don't realize that the old lady is really rehearsing for a play. Stan and Ollie decide to help the old lady by selling their car. During the auction a drunk puts a wallet in Stan's pocket. Ollie accuses Stan of robbing the old lady, but when the truth is revealed Stan takes revenge on Ollie.
The Fixer Uppers
Comedy · 1935
Stan and Ollie are greeting card salesmen who agree to help a woman put a spark in her loveless marriage by making her husband jealous.
Much Ado About Nothing
Comedy · 2013
A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Oliver the Eighth
Comedy · 1934
Barbershop owners Stan and Ollie answer an ad in the newspaper from a wealthy widow looking for a husband. Ollie only mails in his response and is invited to the widow's mansion. Stan discovers his unmailed letter and insists on tagging along. At the mansion, the widow's creepy butler informs them that the woman is crazy. She was once jilted by an Oliver and now her hobby is marrying Olivers and then slitting their throats. Now the boys must figure out how to escape.
Cars Toon Mater's Tall Tales
Family · 2008
Mater the tow truck travels from country to country as he retells his infamous but unbelievable stories.
The Willoughbys
Adventure · 2020
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
How to Irritate People
Comedy · 1969
A pre-Monty Python mockumentary, written by and presented by John Cleese, that provides tips on learning how to irritate people.
The Rat Catcher
Comedy · 2023
In an English village, a reporter and a mechanic listen to a ratcatcher explain his clever plan to outwit his prey.
The Big Bad Wolf
Animation · 1934
The Big Bad Wolf torments Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs.
Arctic Dogs
Animation · 2019
Animals band together to save the day when the evil Otto Von Walrus hatches a sinister scheme to accelerate global warming and melt the Arctic Circle.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
James W. Horne
Written by
H.M. Walker
Stan Laurel
Stan
Oliver Hardy
Ollie
Anita Garvin
Mrs. Laurel (uncredited)
Charlie Hall
Bellboy (uncredited)
Isabelle Keith
Mrs. Hardy (uncredited)
J
Jack Hill
Railway Station Passerby (uncredited)
Baldwin Cooke
Cookie (uncredited)
Court is in session
Put Be Big! on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.