The Little Big House: Talking Chimps, Big Laughs? (Sort Of)

Alright, let's get straight to it: Is The Little Big House worth your time today? If you're looking for a serious narrative or groundbreaking filmmaking, absolutely not. But if you're in the mood for an hour of pure, unadulterated primate silliness — starring The Tiffany Talking Chimps, no less — then yeah, it might just be your weird little escape. People who need their movies to make logical sense will probably want to skip this one entirely. 🐒

The whole thing feels like someone just pointed a camera at a bunch of chimps in a house and said, "Okay, talk!" The premise, if you can call it that, is about these chimps trying to live like regular folks in a suburban home. It’s supposed to be a "big house," but honestly, it felt pretty cramped, especially with all the chimps constantly bumping into each other.

One of the chimps, I think his name was Bongo, spends a good chunk of the movie trying to figure out a toaster. It’s a recurring bit. He puts a whole loaf of bread in there at one point. Just the whole loaf. The smoke detector goes off, obviously. The chimp’s exasperated look when the toast finally pops out, burnt to a crisp, is a genuine moment of comedy gold.

The "talking" part is… something. It’s clearly voice actors dubbed over chimp noises, but the lip-syncing is so gloriously off sometimes it becomes part of the charm. Like, you see a chimp's mouth move, and then a totally unrelated human voice says something about wanting a grape. It’s less like The Actress and more like a bizarre fever dream. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this moment matters.

There’s this whole subplot about a tiny red ball. No, really. A tiny, red, bouncy ball. Two of the chimps spend what feels like ten minutes batting it back and forth, knocking over lamps, and generally causing mayhem. It's a simple thing, but their commitment to this bit is what makes it surprisingly watchable. They take that ball so seriously. 🤣

The pacing is a bit all over the place. Sometimes a scene goes on about 20 seconds too long, and the silence starts to feel awkward rather than emotional. Then suddenly, it's a montage of chimps trying to open a jar of pickles. You never quite know what’s coming next, which I guess is a kind of suspense?

The human actors, when they appear, feel completely out of place. There's a mailman who delivers a package and just sort of stares blankly at the chaos. His reaction shot lingers so long it becomes funny, like he's just given up on understanding the universe. It's a small detail, but it stuck with me.

I also remember this one shot of a chimp trying to read a newspaper upside down. It wasn't even a plot point. Just a chimp, sitting there, deeply concentrating on an inverted newspaper. It’s these little, odd moments that make the film memorable, not any grand statements. The whole thing felt like it was made on a dare.

Look, it's not going to win any awards, obviously. But for a movie about talking chimps in a house, it commits to its premise with an earnest, almost bewildering conviction. It's less a film and more an experience. One you might not entirely understand, but one you probably won't forget either. If you’re into the utterly bizarre, give it a shot. Otherwise, maybe stick to something like High Heels for a more traditional experience.

Didja notice?

• The wallpaper in the "big house" is just terrible. So many clashing patterns!
• One chimp keeps trying to use a remote control that isn't even for the TV.
• The amount of bananas consumed on screen must have been staggering.
• That one chimp clearly preferred the armchair over the sofa. A divo.
• The film gets noticeably better once it stops taking itself seriously, which it kinda does halfway through.