''18 Again!'' is a 1988 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Paul Flaherty and starring

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyeb ...

and Charlie Schlatter. The plot involves a college student switching souls with his grandfather by means of an accident. The film is based on the song " I Wish I Was Eighteen Again" written by Sonny Throckmorton and recorded by Burns in 1979.

Plot

Jack Watson is a millionaire playboy and businessman who is about to turn 81 years old just as his grandson David is about to turn 18, but Jack laments his old age and wishes to get back to his teens once more. When an accident switches their souls, Jack gets to live his grandson's life and all that it entails: school, sports, and romance. Unfortunately, David gets the "short end of the deal", as not only is he trapped in his grandfather's 81-year-old body, but he is also in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

. The only one who knows the truth is his longtime friend Charlie, whom Jack was able to convince by recounting experiences only they knew. Jack gets to approach his family from a fresh point of view and doesn't always like what he sees: he's been a distant parent for his son Arnie and has repeatedly disregarded his ideas for improving the family company. The college fraternity that he coerced David into joining (his old alma mater) is bullying him on a regular basis and forcing him to write their test finals for them. He also finds out that his girlfriend Madeline is unfaithful when she tries to seduce him, thinking he's Jack's grandson. Deciding to set things right, Jack in David's body decides to take charge by convincing his father (or rather, Jack's son) to implement his ideas on the family business and uses his poker playing skills to beat the frat boys while betting $1000 that he will beat the lead frat boy Russ in the upcoming track meet. Jack also impresses a girl named Robin, who is taken with David's old-fashioned style with

bow tie The bow tie or dicky bow is a type of neckwear, distinguishable from a necktie because it does not drape down the shirt placket, but is tied just underneath a winged collar. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also ...

s and his vividly recounting the Second World War and meeting President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

. However, Jack realizes too late that he has willed half of everything to Madeline, who convinces Arnie and his wife to disconnect Jack's 81-year-old body from life support. Knowing that this will kill David, Jack and Charlie rush to the hospital to prevent this, wheeling Jack's body away from an orderly. When they crash in the hospital

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, Jack and David's minds are returned to their rightful bodies, and Jack awakens. Jack still has unfinished business, as in David's body he challenged the fraternity president to a race, and now David must face him. Jack gives David a pep talk, and David beats the frat president. Jack then encourages David to pursue an interested Robin. In private, Jack tells Arnie that his greatest mistake was trying to get him and David to relive his own life, and encourages Arnie to nurture David's interest in art, which Jack will do as well by getting David involved in the graphic design aspect of the family business. Finally, Jack confronts Madeline by saying he knows that she made a pass at David and is well aware that she is a

gold digger A gold digger is a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional sexual relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold di ...

only interested in his bank account. He throws her out of the house and lets her know that he has rewritten his will to include his family and his faithful butler Horton, whom he promptly orders to have Madeline thrown out. Robin and David start their relationship, and the movie finishes with Jack telling David everything about Harry S. Truman.

Cast

* Charlie Schlatter as David Watson/Jack Watson *

as Jack Watson/David Watson * Tony Roberts as Arnold 'Arnie' Watson *

Miriam Flynn Miriam Flynn is an American Voice acting, voice and character actor, character actress. She is best known as Cousin Catherine in the ''National Lampoon's Vacation (film series), National Lampoon's Vacation'' films and Grandma Longneck in ''The ...

as Betty Watson *

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and Golden Globe for '' Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his work such as ''Harlow'' (1965), '' They Shoot Ho ...

as Charlie * Anita Morris as Madeline *

Pauly Shore Paul Montgomery Shore (born February 1, 1968) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for his roles in 1990s comedy films. Shore began as a stand-up comedian at the age of 17, before becoming an MTV VJ in 1989. This led to a starring ...

as Barrett * Jennifer Runyon as Robin Morrison * George DiCenzo as Coach * Bernard Fox as Horton *

Kenneth Tigar Kenneth Tigar (born September 24, 1942) is an Americans, American actor, primarily on United States, American television, and translator. Life Kenneth Leslie Tigar was born into a Jewish family in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and raised in the Great ...

as Professor Swivet * Anthony Starke as Russ * Emory Bass as Art Teacher * Joshua Devane as J.P. * Benny Baker as Red * Hal Smith as Irv * Lance Slaughter as Mikey *

Earl Boen Earl Boen (; August 8, 1941 – January 5, 2023) was an American character actor. He is perhaps best known for portraying criminal psychiatrist Doctor Peter Silberman from Terminator (franchise), the ''Terminator'' franchise. Boen was also very ...

as Robin's Dad * Toni Sawyer as Robin's Mom * Stephanie Baldwin as Robin's Sister * Kimberlin Brown as Receptionist * Karl Wiedergott as Team Member * Pat Crawford Brown as Old Lady

Production

The film was announced under the working title of ''Eighteen Again'' with

set to star and inspired by Burns' recording of the song '' I Wish I Was Eighteen Again''.

Reception

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gives the film a score of 1 and a half out of 4. He compares it to '' Like Father Like Son'' and '' Vice Versa'', calling ''Vice Versa'' the best of the three, by far. He stated, "The whole project seems to have been enveloped in a miasma of good intentions and heartwarming sentiments. There’s no edge, no bite and none of the inspired body language that made 'Vice Versa' so special. The movie makes no attempt to really imagine what it would be like to inhabit another body; it just springs the gimmick on us and starts unreeling its sitcom plot. Although Burns is, of course, a beloved institution, and any opportunity to see him is welcome, he is not given much to do in the movie, and he doesn’t do much with it...No real effort has been made to find any differences between Burns and the character he plays in this movie." Janet Maslin was critical of the film for leaving George Burns in a coma when he is who the audience came to see, and says that it "isn't successfully aimed at anyone in particular". Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times called the film “relentlessly unfunny” and claimed that “nothing appears real or fresh.” She said the cast was “condemned to rehash old clichés” and that the visuals had a flat, TV‑movie aesthetic. However, she praised Charlie Schlatter for his “radiating warmth,” calling it one of the few redeeming aspects of the movie.Sheila Benson, “‘18 Again!’ Revives a Notion That Hasn’t Aged Gracefully,” Los Angeles Times, April 8, 1988

/ref> ''18 Again!'' holds a 29% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on 7 reviews.

References

External links

* * * {{Mojo title, 18again, 18 Again! 1988 films 1988 comedy films 1980s American films 1988 directorial debut films 1980s English-language films 1980s fantasy comedy films 1980s teen comedy films 1980s teen fantasy films American fantasy comedy films American teen comedy films English-language fantasy comedy films Films about body swapping Films about old age Films about wish fulfillment Films directed by Paul Flaherty Films scored by Billy Goldenberg New World Pictures films