Like Father Like Son *** (1987, Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron, Sean Astin, Patrick O’Neal, Margaret Colin, Catherine Hicks) – Classic Movie Review 13,816

Dudley Moore magically switches bodies with his teenage son (Kirk Cameron) in the 1987 American fantasy comedy film Like Father Like Son.

Director Rod Daniel’s 1987 American comedy film Like Father Like Son stars Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron, Sean Astin, Patrick O’Neal, Margaret Colin, and Catherine Hicks.

Dudley Moore’s entry in the 1987 body-swop comedy stakes proved his best role for some time. He plays Dr Jack Hammond, the hospital surgeon father of a teenage lad, high school senior Chris Hammond (Kirk Cameron) with whom he switches bodies and transfers souls after accidentally taking a Native American desert potion, the Brain-Transference Serum.

Chris’s buddy Trigger (Sean Astin) has brought the serum in a Tabasco sauce bottle, but it is placed in the food cupboard by the housekeeper, and Jack then puts some in his Bloody Mary unwittingly. Jack looks into his son’s eyes, and they switch bodies.

The absurd fantasy plot allows Moore to act 16 again in a sober reprise of his child-like role in the 1981 film Arthur, and the likeable Cameron grabs more than his share of the laughs. This appealing, unassuming comedy is decently written and handled, and makes pleasantly amusing viewing, enriched with a good all-star support cast: Sean Astin, Patrick O’Neal, Margaret Colin, and Catherine Hicks.

The similarly premised Big (1988, with Tom Hanks), 18 Again! (1988, with George Burns and Charlie Schlatter) and Vice Versa Versa (1988, starring Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage) followed.

The film debuted in the US at No 2 behind Fatal Attraction and was a hit for Tri-Star Pictures, grossing $34.4 million against a $10.5 million budget. Cameron won the 1988 Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor and the film won the 1988 Young Artist Award for Best Family Motion Picture – Comedy.

There was a lot of unfathomable hate for this harmless movie. Ebert called it ‘one of the most desperately bad comedies I’ve ever seen’ and Siskel called it a ‘cheap marketing decision masquerading as a comedy’, while Maltin gave it a bomb rating and said ‘Dudley Moore’s mugging talents get a major workout in this hall-of-fame embarrassment’. These extreme opinions should be in the hall-of-infamy.

Release date: October 2, 1987.

Running time: 100 minutes.

Kirk Cameron is an evangelical Christian who partners with Ray Comfort in the evangelistic ministry The Way of the Master, and is the co-founder of The Firefly Foundation with his wife, actress Chelsea Noble. He has six children.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,816

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