‘Big’ Men

In “Reel Appeal for Women” (July 10), Jack Mathews relies on the opinions of one woman to reinforce his contentions about movies that appeal to women as a group and the reasons for that alleged appeal.

He accepts at face value, for example, the comment of psychiatrist Carol Lieberman that the movie “Big” appeals to women because it “fulfills a fantasy of what women would like, a 30-year-old body with the child side of a man inside.”

While I can’t speak for all women (and neither can Dr. Lieberman), I can tell you that I decided against viewing this inane-sounding movie precisely because the central character reminds me of every man I’ve ever dated!

The single women I know aren’t looking for a man’s body with a juvenile inside; we’re looking for something far more rare: a man’s body with a mature adult inside.

What other evidence did Mathews compile to support his “findings”? Did he poll a large sample of women moviegoers to find out which movies women like and why? Did he even interview women film critics to learn their opinions?

If not, then it is very misleading to present his generalizations about women’s opinions as gospel.

J.G. BERINSTEIN

Van Nuys