Vice Versa (1988)

Directed by Brian Gilbert. Starring Judge Reinhold, Fred Savage, Corinne Bohrer, Swoosie Kurtz, David Proval, Harry Murphy, Richard Kind, Kevin O’Rourke, William Prince, Jane Kaczmarek, Elya Baskin, Beverly Archer, Chip Lucia. [PG]

An overworked divorced dad (Reinhold) and his rock-and-roll-loving 11-year-old son (Savage) walk a few miles in each other’s shoes—be they Oxfords or sneakers—when a magic skull causes them to switch places with each other, Freaky Friday-style (or “Vice Versa”-style, since it’s “officially” inspired by the F. Antsey story of the same name dating back to the 19th century). Second only to Big among the overload of body-swap comedies from 1987-89 (which isn’t saying much since only two of them were worth watching in the first place); once you get past the goofy and contrived premise, the two central performances are endearing enough to make all but the most obvious situational set-ups work to some degree. There’s about forty-five minutes or so in the middle when it trots along quite nicely, especially for younger viewers who won’t see so many of the punchlines and reactions coming, but the comic-fantasy grinds its gears whenever the mystical and thriller-lite plot elements take over—the “transmogrifying” scene is visually clunky, to say the least, and much of the final act is kind of a drag. James Hong has a small role, and look for Jane Lynch doing a bit part in her first film.

63/100