Wonderful Movie

To me, this movie is perfection.

Must See Movie...

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I love this film! It is a fun, playful film that is great for a Saturday afternoon. George Burns plays a man celebrating his 81st birthday. He makes a wish to be 18 again and after a car crash with his 18 year old grandson (Schlatter), they swap bodies. Schlatter is fantastic in this film and gives a great energetic performance. His big cheesy grin throughout is definitely a reason to watch this film. Despite being mostly a fantasy film, this movie packed a lot of wit and humor to the racial stereotyping of the times (which may still be just as valid today). C Thomas Howell was able to perform the transmutation into a black man without a hitch (even if he only on rare occasions actually spoke like a black man). James Earl Jones is the "black" teacher we all dream of having, which few of us ever do. Despite its flaws, this movie manages to get it's point across reasonably well and can be appreciated by both adults and kids. One of the biggest reasons for my liking this film is the fact that I like the way the romance subplot was handled. Rather than having the love-interest fall into the hero's lap right away (like they do in most movies, books, or stories), in this movie, the hero had to actually EARN the girl's love rather than just get it for free! In that way this movie is quite rare and I respect it for that reason. More movies should handle romance stories the way this one does since one of the biggest flaws society suffers from is the fact that very few people really have to earn anything anymore and thus do not really know the true value of something as a result. Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

OK,I love these "switch"bodies or conscience or whatever sort of out of body experience films you want to call them and so I seek them out.Sadly this film has only one reason to see it and thats the late great George Burns.He has a quite grace that transcends any foolishness his roles call for and this movie calls for a few,least of which is any even remotely believable explanation of why a 81 year oldster switches conscience with his college aged grandson.The grandson, played by Charlie Schlatter, slowly grows on you and the in between'er role played by Tony Roberts is wasted.Red Buttons,Anita Morris and a VERY low keyed Pauly Shore are the only other actors worth noting.The plot is standard older gets younger one last time.Nothing new or earthshaking and the lack of science and VERY dated feel of dress and style makes it fairly boring unless you are really into these sort of films.See a lot better ones first, than see this for Mr.Burns ONLY.There was a sort of funny scene in a history class room about what the "S"inHarry S.Truman's name stood for but that was one of too few.

18 Again is another one of those 80s role reversals, which for the decade, seemed to always involved young men and their fathers or grandfathers. Here, a young man switches bodies with his grandfather, and both see what it's like to live young and old.Charlie Schlatter is David Watson, a college kid who's quiet, and far too held back in saying what he wants to say, especially around girls. But all that changes when he switches bodies with his grandfather Jack (George Burns), a charismatic, funny old guy with a whole lot of energy who, in switching bodies with his grandson, gives David a lot of appeal. Suddenly, he does the 180 from quiet to cool. It's your typical story about learning about self-confidence aside from sharing experiences about being that age these days in the same that Vice Versa, Dream a Little Dream, and Like Father Like Son did when they were released. But this one is much more appealing than those previously mentioned, particularly driven by George Burn's great sense of humor and universal ability to charm, and also with Charlie Schlatter doing a pretty good job trying to act like George Burns would. Schlatter is hardly an annoying or selfish teenager, and neither is Burns, and I think that's what sets this movie apart from the others as well, despite being one of many using that plot. It's well worth the time. Plus, Pauley Shore has a small part as David's cooky friend.

Shortly after George Burns' 81st birthday he is involved in a terrible car accident with his 18-year-old grandson (Charlie Schlatter) and the two have their souls switched in the venture. Now Schlatter's soul is trapped in Burns' comatose body while Burns' soul is in Schlatter's body (which was not injured in the accident). The typical insanity then takes place as Burns enjoys living in Schlatter's body, but then he realizes that the fun must stop and that he must do what he can to save his grandson's life. A tedious little comedy that just never does work. The formula is just lacking on the silver screen. 2 stars out of 5.