MY GIANT

When Sammy, played by Oscar comedian Billy Crystal, roars off in his rental car from the movie set in the Romanian countryside where he has just been fired from his job as a talent agent, he hardly expects that moments later, he’ll be involved in a terrifying wreck. Calling out to God to spare him from imminent death, he envisions enormous hands rescuing him, thinking, “God himself picked me up and personally carried me to heaven.” Waking up in a church and gazing up at a crucifix on the wall, he realizes he is not dead but is under the care of monks in a Catholic monastery. Thankful for having been rescued, he again calls out, “God? It’s Sammy. Why’d you save me?”

The answer seems to come one stormy night as he is recuperating, when he encounters Max, played by Gheorghe Muresan, the towering 7-foot-7-inch giant who pulled him from his car after the accident. Yes! Surely the reason he has been spared from death is to gain huge personal success at last in the movie business by promoting, as Sammy has dubbed him, “My Giant.”

The first encounter between this unlikely pair is a clever, humorous parody of all we learned growing up about what it’s like to meet a real, live giant. Only instead of “Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum,” this giant quotes Shakespeare and poignantly reveals his life story to Sammy, a story far from a happy fairy tale. Because Max had grown too much too fast, his poor parents feared Max was possessed by the Devil; so, at the age of 14, they abandoned him to be raised in the monastery, where he’s lived these last 22 years. There, Max was taught to love God, who protects him from the hurt and ridicule he experiences in the outside world from those who see him as a freak of nature. Max is also sustained by the memory of the girl he loves, Lilianna, who moved to New Mexico after their one-and-only kiss at age 14. Despite his many love letters to her, he has never gotten a response and has relinquished all hope of ever seeing her again.

Sammy makes a deal with Max. If Max will let Sammy put him in the movies, they’ll go to America and find the giant’s long-lost love. Sammy’s true motive, of course, is to make Max into someone important so that Sammy can feel important. Sammy’s identity is defined by his need for success and acclaim, in contrast to Max’s need for love and acceptance.

A series of funny episodes follows, as both men try to achieve their goals. Their journey begins in New York City, where they visit the home of Sammy’s Jewish parents, which Sammy calls the “Casa de Guilt.” In Cleveland, Max’s trust in Sammy is temporarily broken, resulting in Max going to church for confession. As he tells Sammy, “I asked God to forgive me for my anger and to forgive you − He said OK.” After a brief trip to Chicago to see Sammy’s estranged wife Serena and their son Nick, they head off to Las Vegas, where fame and fortune presumably await them in a film just being cast. An unfortunate turn of events occurs regarding Max’s well-being and his planned reunion with Lilianna, causing Sammy to change his course of action and how he views himself, his family and the life God has given him.

A well-done and entertaining family-friendly film with a biblical worldview and redemptive elements of Christian forgiveness, MY GIANT teaches that reconciliation comes through forgiveness, joy springs forth from love and giving is more blessed than receiving. In the end, Sammy gains perspective on his friendship with Max. Sammy realizes that, because of their meeting and their coming to care for one another, he has moved from not being able to see himself as a good man to becoming a man of worth and a “giant” to his own family.

MY GIANT blends comedy and tragedy to form a charming opportunity to laugh and cry. It shows that God answers our prayers. It also implies that God, in using Max to save Sammy from dying, can give us all true meaning and purpose in our lives. What a great message for Hollywood to send in this day of excessive violence, licentious lust and overblown films of drowning people in sinking ships.