Vice-Versa

"Vice Versa" is a very funny, very sweet comedy about a father and son who switch bodies thanks in part to a mysterious Thai skull that they both just happen to be touching at the same time (not to mention making an unintentional wish that they could trade places with each other). Judge Reinhold ("Beverly Hills Cop") and Fred Savage (TV's "The Wonder Years") are dynamite in their roles as the father and son who have to get used to doing things that they're not used to doing (the father goes to school; the son goes to work, etc.). "Vice Versa" has lots of big laughs and is perfect for the entire family. The film, shot almost entirely in Chicago, also uses the Chicago locations to good effect. A hilarious film from start to finish, and it's easily the best of the body switching movies that came out in 1987/1988 ("Like Father, Like Son", "18 Again", and "Big" were the others). I still can't understand why this movie flopped at the box office in 1988. The thing that shocks me is that "Like Father, Like Son" was the worst of these movies, and it made more money than "Vice Versa". I can't figure that one out. "Vice Versa" has 100 times more laughs than "Like Father, Like Son" ever had. Sometimes I can't understand these moviegoers. And in this case, the fact that "Vice Versa" faired poorly at the box office when released in 1988 to me remains an enigma. I saw this movie in a packed movie house on it's opening weekend and everyone (including myself and a friend of mine) was laughing out loud while watching it. It's that funny of a movie.

***1/2 (out of four)

An ancient, mystical skull stolen from a Thai temple makes trouble for our two stars. Judge Reinhold is divorced, workaholic department store executive Marshall Seymour, Fred Savage is his 11 year old son Charlie. The skull magically allows them to switch bodies. Now Marshall has to deal with school, bullies, and a teacher he thinks is a harridan, and Charlie has to bluff his way through Marshalls' job, and deal with the needs of Marshalls' girlfriend Sam (Corinne Bohrer).

As this "body switch" genre goes (it was certainly popular during this period), this is definitely one of the better ones. It may be the furthest thing from original, but it works rather well thanks to some bright writing from Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais (whose other credits in both film and TV are numerous). They commit to being at least somewhat believable, but the real bright spots of the picture are Reinhold & Savage. They totally commit to their characters and situation, and are a blast to watch. Of course, the expected reactions from onlookers when "Charlie" talks nothing like an 11 year old, and "Marshall" gets frequently befuddled, add to the merriment. And young Charlie is an aspiring musician and hair metal enthusiast (!), so watching Reinhold jam on the drums is a welcome highlight.

The cast is rock solid and full of familiar faces: Swoosie Kurtz, David Proval, Jane Kaczmarek, William Prince, Gloria Gifford, Beverly Archer, Richard Kind, Ajay Naidu (just a kid himself then), Elya Baskin, James Hong, and Jane Lynch (in her film debut). Under-rated 80s babe Bohrer is charming as the love interest; Kurtz and Proval are appropriately odious villains. Reinhold, who saw his career start to head South after the box office failure of this one, really doesn't get enough credit for this performance, and young Savage is equally his match, the way that he spews out some of his dialogue.

Like a lot of stories, it eventually builds to an action-packed finale, which is amusing to say the least.

Good of its kind; it may follow an ancient Hollywood formula, to be sure, but it sill wins one over. It's got some real heart as it spins its "walking a mile in another persons' shoes" yarn.

Seven out of 10.

I saw Vice Versa for the first time in 1991 when I was seven years old. The film was that realistic that I believed it. My favourite scene is where Marshall and Charlie switch bodies. The special effects are so good that it's totally realistic.

How they managed to make it look like Marshall was shrinking (making his clothes baggy) and Charlie was growing (and ripping his clothes to shreds at the same time-always a fave bit for me) I'll never know, but it was amazing.

VICE VERSA is basically a gender variation on the 1970s film FREAKY Friday, in which Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage play a bickering father and son whose roles are reversed thanks to a magical Thai artefact. I have to say that I always love the tinges of the supernatural in these family movies from the era; the writer goes out of his way to set up the story with the early scenes set in Thailand itself and featuring veteran actor James Hong in a typically creepy performance.

What follows soon turns into your usual 1980s-era comedy with much in common with the Tom Hanks movie BIG. It's also on the same level as that film, although it lacks a big and memorable set-piece like the Hanks/Loggia dance-off and the sight of Reinhold playing the drums doesn't really cut it. I'm always wary of these films as occasionally they become overly sentimental but I can report that VICE VERSA walks a fine line without ever crossing it. Fred Savage is excellent in a star-making turn (I used to love watching him in THE WONDER YEARS) and the underrated Reinhold holds his own against the greats of the decade. It's a fun and light movie, nothing more, but it holds your attention throughout.

"Freaky Friday" was about a girl and her mother who switched bodies and had to cope with the outcome for a brief time period. The girl took the job, the mother took school. The film has been remade at least twice that I can think of off hand, once in 1995 for television with Shelly Long, and again this year with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.

The formula was put to bad use in 1987's "Like Father, Like Son," which starred Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron as father and son (respectively, of course) who swap places after a freak accident. A year later there was a movie about a father and son who swapped places and tacked work and school. It was called "Vice Versa," and I consider it the greatest of all these films.

What is Hollywood's fascination with swapping parent with child? It almost surely has something to do with cash. But, alas, I do not think that it is the fascination with swapping parent and child as much as just swapping in general. These body swap films were extremely popular during the 80s, but lately we've been seeing a revival of the formula, with Rob Schneider in one of the worst films of 2002, "The Hot Chick," and then the "Freaky Friday" remake.

There are lots of action films released every year. There are lots of comedies and dramas released every year, too. But I think you will be hard pressed to find the majority of those action films all about a guy stranded inside a building being taken over with hostages. I think you will be hard pressed to find the majority of dramas being about Mafia families. It will be even harder to find the character's name in the action film to be John McClane every time around, and every Mafia family's surname to be Corleone.

Basic formulas are used again and again, of course. But there are only so many times you can use the exact same plot, down to every last inch, and expect it to work.

"Vice Versa" does work, thanks to a pretty clever little script and great acting, by both Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage, whose role in "The Princess Bride" proved he good be a sweet little kid, and whose role here proves that he can be a sarcastic 30/40-something alcoholic.

Marshall (Reinhold) is a Chicago businessman who has no time for his 11-year-old son, Charlie (Savage). So when Charlie is sent to spend the weekend with his dad, things don't go so well -- until they make a wish that they could trade places, and an ancient Oriental antique grants their wish.

Marshall works at a big department store in downtown Chicago, host to all types of gadget and toy stores. Charlie, in Marshall's body, goes to work, and Marshall, in Charlie's body, goes to school. They both realize that they both have it tough and, in the end, overcome differences to learn to appreciate them.

Sounds sappy, huh? Sounds by-the-numbers? That's probably because, in a sense, it is. The film is a lot like "Big," released the same year, and a lot like "Freaky Friday," only with different genders in the leading roles. But I believe it's better than both films for a few reasons.

1. Tom Hanks gave a great performance in "Big," but acted more like an 8-year-old than a 13-year-old in a man's body. Fred Savage, as Marshall, not only pulls off the adult role, but Judge Reinhold convincingly portrays a fascinated 11-year-old. Because of this, it's actually a lot more believable and a lot more funny.

2. Charlie, in Marshall's body, does not come up with wonderful ideas for new toys, and does not wow the company chairman with his genius, straightforward designs like Hanks did in "Big." It was not only a convenient plot ploy, but also wholly stupid. "Vice Versa" actually presents a much clearer image of what a child would do in a man's body -- make mistakes, nearly lose his job, go into the department stores and start banging on drums and shooting arrows. (Don't ask.)

This is not only a fun film, but a much more honest film than "Big," which I enjoyed but not nearly quite as much as "Vice Versa." "Big" actually had some sexual amorality in it (13-year-old doing it with 30-year-old, etc.), and despite Tom Hanks' great performance, he did not convince me that he was a 13-year-old inside a man's body, but rather a younger child. All 13-year-olds know what women mean when they say that they want to sleep with them.

"Vice Versa" doesn't resort to typical plot turns. It also has a lot of fun with clean morals, and it came out the same year as "Big," meaning it didn't rip off its success like a lot of movies did thereafter. This is an honest family film as straightforward as Charlie is in Marshall's body. And though it may be copying old formulas in a lot of ways, in my own humble opinion, it succeeds far past the others.

4/5 stars.

• John Ulmer