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DVD Vice Versa
It was one of those "something in the air" moments in Hollywood. In the space of a year, four different films came out on the same subject: A kid lands in an adult's body (and, often, vice versa--get it?). The best was Big, but this one was surprisingly amusing, thanks to a goofily adolescent performance by Judge Reinhold (as the kid in an adult's body) and a comically serious one by young Fred Savage, who can convey the sense of an grownup trapped in a kid's world. The plot is virtually identical to its competitors--overworked Dad has a big deadline and has to rely on the unreliable kid to come through for him, even as he gets a sense of what his son's life is like--but Reinhold and Savage charm their way through it. --Marshall Fine
Vice Versa is one of the funniest comedies about a child changing places with an adult. There are several other movies like this in which the mind of a child occupies an adult body and, in this case, vice versa, or some similar variation. They include Like Father Like Son, Freaky Friday, Big, Dream A Little Dream, Eighteen Again, and The Kid. In Vice Versa Judge Reinhold plays Marshall Seymour, a divorced department store purchaser who has his son Charlie (Fred Savage of The Wonder Years, The Wizard, etc.) for the weekend. Marshall just returned from a buying trip in the orient, mistakenly in posession of a magical skull. Charlie thinks his dad's unfairly ragging on him and in the midst of an argument, he finds the skull and Marshall tries to take it away from him. Just as they are both handling it, in the heat of argument Charlie wishes they could trade places, and they do. Before they figure out how to change back, Marshall has to attend Charlie's school in the boys body, and Charlie has to go to work at the department store as Marshall, as well as deal with the man's rocky relationship with his girfriend. All these situations provide plenty of laughs. One of my favorite parts is when Charlie's mother walks in on them, and sees her son Charlie - really her ex Marshall - drinking a martini. His reaction is as funny as hers: "S*#& what's she doing here?" You have to see it to get it. Other good comedy emerges from Charlie's adventures as a grownup in the department store and Marshall's experiences as a kid, dealing with bullies and teachers at school. It has a happy ending
The best of the "Switch" comedies.
In the late 80's, there were several of switched-places comedies, where a young/older relative would trade places with each other.
Here, Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage are in the roles of father and 11-year-old son, respectively. Charlie (Savage) goes to stay with his nice, but slightly uptight divorced, workaholic dad, Marshall (Reinhold), a vice-president of a large department store. Marshall goes on a business trip to Thailand and accidentally gets ahold of a mystical skull, bought cheap by a pair of husband/wife thugs trying to sell it for more money.
Upon returning home, Marshall's likeable, but easily distracted rocker son comes to stay with him for a week. They accidentally unleash the skull's powers during an argument. Now we watch Marshall have to deal with bullies at school, all the while weirding out Charlie's friends and teachers. This was the only thing in the movie that got slightly annoying sometimes, as if Marshall doesn't always remember how to talk or act, and that he's supposed to be 11 again. As quoted by his secretary at one point, he turns into a "little [expletetive] who sounds just like his father."
Charlie's end (in his dad's body) is actually the funnier, and more believable of the two, IMHO. I got the feeling he eased into the adult role easier than the other way around, and as such, enjoyed it more.
The stressed-out 30-something man suddenly gets a kid's POV on things, and is making immediate decisons at work, such as recalling millions of toy moose just because one broke, He also gets to stand up for his "son" at school. In one scene, he pretends to bust some older punks for smoking in the bathroom and also threatens them about leaving the younger kids alone. In another, he simply starts rocking out on the drums in the mall music shop in his office building. To top this off, he begins to (even further) charm the pants off a young co-worker that his dad has been dating.
In the end, though, they both learn to see the other's side of things. Out of all the switch comedies, I'd actually say this had the best ending.
If you pay close attention, Jane Kycsmeric plays Charlie's mom and Marshall's ex-wife -- she would go on to bigger success as the loud, opinionated mother, Lois, on the sitcom 'Malcolm in the Middle' over a decade later. In fact, I could see (more subtle) shades of that character here. Also the husband thug is David Proval, who also played a similar role in Weird Al's 'UHF'.
Another (albeit smaller) unique thing about this movie is the bigger age difference in the characters. For instance, in 'Like Father Like Son,' as well as 'Freaky Friday,' it's a late teen who trades spaces with their parent. '18 Again' had it between a guy of that age and his grandpa. Whereas, since Charlie was still a "kid" kid, that made it all the more entertaining and different, for me at least.
Recommended if you like any kind of lighthearted 80's comedies. I could also see fans of John Hughes-directed movies liking it.
My All Time Favorite Movie
Whatever you do, don't miss this jewel. I have enjoyed this movie since it came out in 1988. Frankly, it remains my favorite all time movie. This movie is just PURE FUN to watch and moves along in a brilliant manner. You can't watch this movie without laughing out load. Now, isn't this the reason we watch movies? The complete cast should be applauded for a wonderful performance. If you have not seen this movie, buy it or rent it as fast as you can and join in the FUN!
Was it something in the water? In the late 1980s, Hollywood came up with no fewer than three different versions of the same story: A child's mind winds up in an adult's body and (usually) vice versa. In fact, that was the name of one of them, Vice Versa. The other one was Big. This one, which starred Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron, was perhaps the weakest of the group, with Moore as a heart surgeon and Cameron as his goofy kid; they change places and must cope with each other's problems for a day. But Cameron isn't much of an actor and Moore can't stop mugging long enough to show us that he's playing a teen in an adult body. --Marshall FineMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Dudley Moore - Kirk Cameron Director(s): Rod Daniel DVD Release Date: Released the 27 April 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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The brief 1980s mania surrounding "the Coreys" peaked with License to Drive, a modest but surprisingly still enjoyable adventure comedy. Les (Corey Haim, Lucas) has a chance to date his dream girl, Mercedes (Heather Graham, Boogie Nights, in her first significant movie role)--but he's just failed his driving exam. Motivated by a mixture of pride and hormones, he steals his grandfather's Cadillac and heads out on the town with Mercedes for a night that swiftly becomes an escalating series of disasters, made worse by the foolhardy antics of Les' best friend Dean (Corey Feldman, Stand by Me). Despite some egregious '80s fashion disasters (Graham gets the worst of them), License to Drive holds up surprisingly well--it's no work of genius, but it is a solidly... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Corey Haim - Corey Feldman Director(s): Greg Beeman DVD Release Date: Released the 03 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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George Burns was 92 years old when this movie was released. It would be the last time he appeared on the big screen in a leading role.
There were a bunch of similar movies released in a short period of time, where the older man and the younger guy switch bodies. This was one of the best; it still holds up as a funny film. Touching, too, as the love between Grandfather (Burns) and Grandson (Charlie Schlatter) is handled very realistically.
Burns, as Jack Watson, doesn't have nearly as much screen-time as Charlie Schlatter, who plays Jack's grandson David. The body switching occurs during a car accident that lands Burns unconscious in the hospital for the middle section of the film. Burns expresses his thoughts through voice-over narration while experiencing life in his... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): George Burns - Charlie Schlatter Director(s): Paul Flaherty DVD Release Date: Released the 19 March 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Patrick Dempsey had an usual niche in the 80s teen comedy, as did the characters he played. He was the lovable loser who just wanted to fit in, somehow ends up getting caught up in some smutty encounter or another on his quest for acceptance, but is well liked and tended to have everything mostly work out for him in the end. Here was no acception.
He plays the lovable loser once again, this time he was an arrogant, cocky kid who blew his education by doing nothing but partying at college. Disappointed and angry at his failing grades, his parents decide to stop supporting him and he is forced into the minimum wage workforce at a pizza place. While Patrick is thoughly miserable working for slave labor, he encounters a beautiful, mysterious stranger who (like the plot to a... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Patrick Dempsey - Kate Jackson Director(s): Joan Micklin Silver DVD Release Date: Released the 04 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A weak, lazy comedy about an easygoing teacher (Mark Harmon, whose movie career never had the kind of trajectory that his TV work did) who is forced to teach--you guessed it--summer school. What's worse, he gets exactly the kind of kids you'd expect: the losers and slackers who are forced to make up the work they didn't complete during the year. He tries to duck work and let them fend for themselves. But in this mushy Carl Reiner film, the teacher offers some life lessons to his band of delinquents and--surprise, surprise--the kids impart a lesson or two to their teacher, as well. Harmon coasts through the film on his good looks, which are considerable. --Marshall FineMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Mark Harmon - Kirstie Alley Director(s): Carl Reiner DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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