Little Man

Little Man is a 2006 crime comedy film starring Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman and co-stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bill Nighy and Eugene Levy. Marlon and Shawn's brother Dennis Dugan directed it.

The film was theatrically released on July 14, 2006 by Columbia Pictures.

Plot summary
In Revolution Studios’ hilarious comedy Little Man, big things come in small packages. Darryl Edwards (Shawn Wayans) is so eager to become a father that he mistakes Calvin Simms (Marlon Wayans), a short, baby-faced thief on the lam, for an abandoned toddler. He and his wife take the “baby” into their home while Calvin’s partner Percy P (Tracy Morgan) tries to help him recover a stolen diamond.

After several years in prison, a recently paroled tough-as-nails—though not-quite-three-foot-tall—jewel thief, Calvin decides it’s time to retire from a life of crime, but not before pulling off one last big heist. A notorious crime boss has offered Calvin and his former partner Percy P $100,000 to steal the famous Queen Diamond. Because there’s a glitch in the jewelry store’s security system, Calvin assumes the job will be child’s play. But the heist goes bad, and Calvin is forced to drop the jewel into Vanessa's purse. Vanessa and her husband Darryl then return to their suburban Chicago neighborhood unaware that they have become pawns in a high-stakes crime.

Darryl and Vanessa are having problems of their own. Darryl is dying to assume the responsibilities of parenthood. But Vanessa, who has just been promoted to vice president at an advertising firm, is worried that having a baby will limit her ability to climb higher up the corporate ladder. She is also concerned that, despite his enthusiasm, Darryl is not ready to be a father.

When they overhear Darryl and Vanessa, Percy and Calvin devise a plan to exploit their insecurities in order to recover the stolen gem. Calvin will masquerade as a “baby,” infiltrate their home and sneak away with the diamond. He deposits himself in a baby basket on Darryl and Vanessa’s doorstep. Darryl leaps at the opportunity to prove he’s ready for fatherhood by caring for the abandoned child for the weekend. To his surprise, Vanessa agrees.

Once inside the Edwards home, the tough, cynical Calvin finds life as a “baby” to be a living hell and retrieving the diamond much tougher than he’d imagined. The Edwards’ best friends - Greg & Brittany (Arnold Schwarzenegger & Catherine O'Hara) and Joe & Thomas (Nicolas Cage & Matt Damon) -- shower gifts and advice on the new parents, while Vanessa’s suspicious bodyguard Donkey Kong (Bill Nighy) is determined to expose Calvin as a fraud.

Calvin’s toughest obstacle, however, turns out to be Darryl, who in his eagerness to prove what a great father he can be, inadvertently sabotages Calvin’s plan. The father/son events Darryl schedules are laden with booby traps. A day in the park ends in a high-speed car chase. “Baby’s” first hockey game descends into a drunken brawl. With each disaster, Darryl becomes increasingly worried that he is a failure as a parent, despite assurances from Vanessa. In a final attempt to do something good for the “baby,” Darryl vows to throw the best birthday party a kid has ever had. And the elusive diamond slips dangerously away from Calvin when Vanessa finds the jewel and assumes it is the engagement ring Darryl had promised her years ago.

While Darryl and Vanessa are out, Pops confronts “baby” Calvin. When they return home, they are shocked to find Pops holding the “baby” in a headlock and he is quickly shipped off to an old-folks home. However, a stuffed bear containing a secret “nanny-cam,” reveals the truth, but not before Calvin makes his escape, the diamond safely in hand. The unsuspecting couple now find themselves at the mercy of the crime-boss (Chazz Palminteri) and his goons Bruno (John De Santis) and ROSCOE (Dave Sheridan).

But Calvin has a change of heart and returns to save the young couple who had taken him into their home and their hearts.

In the end, Darryl discovers that fatherhood may be hard work but it’s the greatest job a guy could have, while Calvin finds out what it’s like to have someone who will look out for him no matter what.

Cast

 * Marlon Wayans as Calvin
 * Shawn Wayans as Darryl
 * Kerry Washington as Vanessa
 * John Witherspoon as Pops
 * Tracy Morgan as Percy
 * Lochlyn Munroe as Greg
 * Brittany Daniel as Brittany
 * Fred Stoller as Richard
 * Alex Borstein as Janet
 * Chazz Palminteri as Walken
 * Molly Shannon as Soccer Mom
 * David Alan Grier as Jimmy
 * Linden Porco as Calvin Body
 * Gabriel Pimentel as Calvin Body
 * Dave Sheridan as Rosco
 * John DeSantis as Bruno (credited as John De Santis)
 * Kelly Coffield Park as The Jeweler
 * Damien Dante Wayans as Officer Wilson
 * Uriel Garcia as Shaq
 * Rob Schneider as D-Rex (uncredited cameo)

Critical response
The film received negative reviews from movie critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 12% based on 91 reviews. 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". It currently has a 4.3 out of 10 on IMDb.

On Metacritic, based on 22 critics, it received a 26 out of a possible 100. This sites "Generally unfavorable Reviews". The film received a 4.2 out of 10 on "Common Sense Media". Slant Magazine gave the film a 1.5 out of 4.