18 Again!

I must have a thing for body swap stories because I've liked nearly every film with this premise. 1987-88 was the peak year for this type of flick and you had a bunch of good ones: Like Father, Like Son, Vice Versa, and Big all came out that fall, spring, and summer. 18 Again is the one that came and went. It lasted about three weeks in theatres and then disappeared. The thing is, I think I like this one more than the others that I've mentioned. Maybe it's because George Burns is in it, maybe it's because of the gorgeous Anita Morris, or maybe it's the idea of being an older man getting a second chance at youth. It's possible that all of the above contribute to the appeal. Regardless, when I want to watch a movie in this genre, 9 times out of 10, I stick in 18 Again and enjoy it every time. It's not the best of the genre but it's probably the most fun.

I saw this movie almost ten years ago, and I still haven't seen a better comedy.

I enjoyed every minute. Don't miss it !!

Charming comedy about the fate that intervenes in the lives of Jack, a swinging 81 year old bachelor who has everything but youth, and his grandson David, who change souls after a freak accident. Burns is lovely, but it is Schlatter who steals the picture with a witty and youthful version of Burns.

The '80s was a good time for this kind of movie. Obviously.

Not only was there "18 Again!", but there was "Big", "Like Father, Like Son" and "Vice Versa", all with the same basic idea - regaining lost youth. And in comparison with the others, this falls sorta mid-way.

Burns, as always, is great and in fine form. Schlatter does a great Burns imitation in his early scenes especially. Runyon plays basically the same character she did in "Up the Creek" an just about every other part she'd played in movies before this. But she does okay. Morris, slinky and sultry as ever, doesn't disappoint. Everyone else just kind of hangs back and lets the story take care of itself. But that's okay; it does.

Let's face it: you can only say good in a movie where Pauly Shore play a halfway tolerable person.

Seven stars. Watch "18 Again!" and if you have before, do it "Again!"!

18 Again is another one of those 80s role reversals, which for the decade, seemed to always involved young men and their fathers or grandfathers. Here, a young man switches bodies with his grandfather, and both see what it's like to live young and old.

Charlie Schlatter is David Watson, a college kid who's quiet, and far too held back in saying what he wants to say, especially around girls. But all that changes when he switches bodies with his grandfather Jack (George Burns), a charismatic, funny old guy with a whole lot of energy who, in switching bodies with his grandson, gives David a lot of appeal. Suddenly, he does the 180 from quiet to cool. It's your typical story about learning about self-confidence aside from sharing experiences about being that age these days in the same that Vice Versa, Dream a Little Dream, and Like Father Like Son did when they were released.

But this one is much more appealing than those previously mentioned, particularly driven by George Burn's great sense of humor and universal ability to charm, and also with Charlie Schlatter doing a pretty good job trying to act like George Burns would. Schlatter is hardly an annoying or selfish teenager, and neither is Burns, and I think that's what sets this movie apart from the others as well, despite being one of many using that plot. It's well worth the time. Plus, Pauley Shore has a small part as David's cooky friend.