A Major Disappointment

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Blistering performances.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Chris Hammond (Kirk Cameron) struggles in class. He has a crush on self- obsessed Lori Beaumont despite her giant boyfriend. His best friend Trigger (Sean Astin)'s uncle Earl is working on a brain transference serum derived from a native American potion. Chris and his father Dr. Jack Hammond (Dudley Moore) accidentally take it and switch bodies. Jack is a head hospital surgeon. Dr. Amy Larkin (Catherine Hicks) is a crusader working under him. His boss Dr. Larry Armbruster has flirtatious wife Ginnie (Margaret Colin). Father and son have to live with the switch until they can find uncle Earl.The characters are not that appealing and the story has nothing new. It's all rather bland and unlikeable. Chris is not nice and his taste is rather superficial in all aspects. Trigger is even worst. They should have gone all out as wild crazy guys although I doubt Cameron is capable. Jack is not much better and borders on boring. Switching from one unappealing character to the other does nothing to make it good. It definitely does not make it funny. The father letting the son work at the hospital amounts to callous malpractice. It's bad mindless writing. This is actually anti-funny.

Maybe there's something wrong with me, but I think this movie's great. There's lots of hilarious (and clean) sight gags, slapstick and laugh-out-loud situations.Dudley Moore, obviously the far more superior comedian, is fantastic as a teenager stuck in an adult's body. He has many funny scenes and milks them for all they're worth, my favourite being the chewing gum/cigarette incident. The looks on his co-stars' faces is priceless. Watch also for Moore's date with Margaret Colin (that goes really badly) and when he does the rounds at the hospital.Unfortunately, there are a few flaws. There's a bit of swearing and sexual reference (which would make it an otherwise very suitable film for kids). It wastes the talent of Catherine Hicks in a surprisingly pointless and unnecessary role and Sean Astin is super-annoying (as always) as the "wacky" best friend/sidekick. The film also resorts to schmaltz at the end when it goes for a warm and fuzzy finale.Otherwise, a great film that's lots and lots of fun. Funky soundtrack and wonderful flashback to the delightfully tacky fashions and hairstyles of the '80s.

Well, if you've got an Sunday afternoon with nothing else to do, this is the movie for you. It's neither intellictually stimulating, nor is it hilariously funny, but it's one of those guilty pleasure movies. You don't know why you watch it, because you've already seen it before and it wasn't that hot of a movie, but you can't help but sit and watch it until the credits roll. It is neither the best nor the worst parent/child switching places movie ever.

The way I see it, this story gave each of the two groups (teenaged students and middle-aged professional people) a better understanding of the trials and tribulations the other experiences on a daily basis. As kids, we think our parents' lives are easy, and as adults, we tend to forget the pressures experienced by highschoolers. I enjoyed this film, and hope others will, too.