De tal astilla, tal palo

Like Father Like Son was made at the height of Kirk Cameron's bubblegum popularity as teen idol, courtesy of his television series Growing Pains which was dominating the ratings in 1987. Cameron was just getting into his fundamentalist religion kick so the script couldn't be too naughty.

As it is it's a mildly amusing comedy of the Freaky Friday vein, only this time it's a father and son, Kirk's father in this case being Dudley Moore. Kirk's your typical teenage kid, just looking for a good time and not too serious. Moore is a very serious and respected surgeon who would like to be the new chief of staff at his hospital to replace Patrick O'Neal's whose recommendation on a replacement will probably make or break a candidate.

Kirk's got some troubles of his own in the form of shapely Camille Cooper who's hitting on him. She's the girl friend of jock Micah Grant who hates Kirk and his friend Sean Astin.

In fact Astin's archaeologist uncle is the cause of all the problems that Moore and Cameron face. The uncle Bill Morrison has come back from a dig at the Navajo reservation with a body transference medicine that Astin thinks would be worth a few laughs, even experimenting with a dog and cat on it. But when the maid thinks it's a condiment and Moore and Cameron use it on the spaghetti, strange things happen.

Each lives about 36 hours in the other's bodies and the other's lives and generally make a mess of it. If you've seen both versions of Freaky Friday you've got a general idea of what's going to happen.

The film did reasonably well at the box office though it failed to make Cameron a movie star. That didn't happen until Kirk started playing on the Christian film circuit. Moore and Cameron and Astin work well together and it's still mildly amusing.

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.

Doctor Dudley Moore and his teenage son Kirk Cameron end up becoming each other in this terrible little film. A brain transference formula is the cause here. The typical misunderstandings and forced-comedic situations then occur. Moore continued to struggle with roles after his crowning achievement in "Arthur" six years earlier. Cameron, thought to be the biggest star of television's "Growing Pains", was trying to become a bankable movie star. That plan fell flat as well. 2 stars out of 5.

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.

I think I have seen every example of the "body switch" genre, at least all of those that have been made in the past 40 years or so, and "Like Father Like Son" is the worst of them. The first 20 minutes or so are painless mediocrity, but then soon after the movie collapses. What's the problem? I think the main problem is that the characters are stupid. If I was in their situation, I know I would be terrified and trying my best to not raise suspicion. If the movie had done that, it could have been funny seeing these people trying to do their best but making mistakes. But the movie's two main characters seem to be trying their best to blow the charade - not realistic. And the movie's sense of humor is really bad - we have such stuff as audiences falling asleep during lectures, a gag that's done TWICE. If you want to see a good example of this genre, see "Freaky Friday" (the original or the remake) or "Vice Versa".