Vice Versa *** (1988, Judge Reinhold, Fred Savage) – Classic Movie Review 13,817

Charlie (Fred Savage, aged 11) switches bodies with his store boss dad (Judge Reinhold) after they touch an ancient eastern magical skull, in Vice Versa, one of 1987-88’s four body-swap movies.

Director Brian Gilbert’s 1988 American fantasy comedy film Vice Versa stars Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage. It is written and produced by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, based on the 1882 novel by F Anstey, already filmed three times, most famously by Peter Ustinov also as Vice Versa in 1948. 

Junior high-schoolboy Charlie (Fred Savage, aged 11) switches bodies with his Chicago department store boss dad Marshall Seymour (Judge Reinhold) after they touch an ancient eastern magical skull stolen from a  Buddhist monastery, in one of 1987-88’s four body-swap movies.

Big is definitely the best of the bunch, but this one is funny enough (certainly funnier than 18 Again! or Like Father Like Son), thanks mainly to the engaging and energetic performances. The two stars are gently appealing, and the same goes for the Clement-La Frenais screenplay.

Like Father Like Son (1987, with Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron and Sean Astin) was followed by the similarly premised Big (1988, with Tom Hanks), 18 Again! (1988, with George Burns and Charlie Schlatter) and Vice Versa (1988).

Cast: Judge Reinhold, Fred Savage, Corinne Bohrer, Swoosie Kurtz, David Proval, Jane Kaczmarek, William Prince, Gloria Gifford, Beverly Archer, Richard Kind, Elya Baskin, Ajay Naidu, Jane Lynch, Harry Murphy, Kevin O’Rourke, Chip Lucia, James Hong, Jason Late.

It flopped, grossing only $13,664,060 at the US box office.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,817

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