Like Father Like Son (1987)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Rod Daniel

Writers:

Steve Bloom (writer)
Lorne Cameron (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

2 October 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

Chris and his dad have accidentally changed bodies - but no big deal. Chris gets the Jag and the Gold Card. Dad gets the fake ID and the bio final.

Plot:

A mysterious potion switches the personalities of a buttoned up doctor and his laid back son.

Plot Keywords:

Child As Adult | Remake | Childbirth | Role Reversal | Soul Transference

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Dudley Moore	...	Dr. Jack Hammond
Kirk Cameron	...	Chris Hammond
Margaret Colin	...	Ginnie Armbruster
Catherine Hicks	...	Dr. Amy Larkin
Patrick O'Neal	...	Dr. Larry Armbruster
Sean Astin	...	Clarence / Trigger
Camille Cooper	...	Lori Beaumont
Micah Grant	...	Rick Anderson, Lori's Boyfriend
Bill Morrison	...	Trigger's Uncle Earl
Skeeter Vaughan	...	Medicine Man
Larry Sellers	...	Navajo Helper
Tami David	...	Navajo Girl
Maxine Stuart	...	Phyllis, Hammonds' Housekeeper
David Wohl	...	Dr. Roger Hartwood
Michael Horton	...	Dr. Mike O'Donald
Randy Lowell	...	Dr. Spellner (as Randolph Dreyfuss)
Art Frankel	...	Mr. Racine, Heart Patient
Christine Healy	...	Hospital Administrator
Mary Jane Courier	...	Operating Nurse
Debbie Zipp	...	Nurse with Dying Patient
Teresa Bowman	...	Nurse with Heart Patient
Brian Peck	...	Intern with Heart Patient
Carol Swarbrick	...	Norma, Hospital Secretary
Kedric Wolfe	...	Sidney, Board Member
Robert Balderson	...	Hal Gilden, Board Member
Dakin Matthews	...	Old Man Morrison
Les Lannom	...	Coach Ellis
Lorna Hill	...	Mrs. Davis
John Stinson	...	Math Teacher
Bill Stevenson	...	Biology Student
Alexandra Kenworthy	...	Janice Stenfield, College Interviewer
Jamison Selby	...	Rick's Friend (as Todd Selby)
Lloyd Nelson	...	Teacher in Hall
John Tokatlian	...	Student
Mark McCannon	...	Student
Jan Duncan	...	Student
Armin Shimerman	...	Trigger's Dad
Kitty Swink	...	Trigger's Mom
Lisa Robins	...	Bartender
Richard Gonzales	...	Paperboy (as Richard Gilberts)
James Lashly	...	Freemont, Corky's Man
Corki Grazer	...	Corky, Woman in Labor
Nancy Lenehan	...	Waitress in Desert Diner
Edwin Brecht	...	Newborn in Desert Diner
Johnathan Brecht	...	Newborn in Desert Diner
Steve Plunkett	...	Rock Concert Band Autograph
Randy Rand	...	Rock Concert Band Autograph
Steve Lynch	...	Rock Concert Band Autograph
Keni E. Richards	...	Rock Concert Band Autograph
Steve Isham	...	Rock Concert Band Autograph
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Lady with Gum in Hair (uncredited)
Chris Robinson	...	Bobby (uncredited)
Jack Starrett	...	Coach Jennings (uncredited)
Carol Stoddard	...	Emergency Room Nurse (uncredited)

Directed by
Rod Daniel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Steve Bloom		writer
Lorne Cameron		writer
David Hoselton		writer

Produced by
Brian Grazer	....	producer
David Valdes	....	producer

Original Music by
Miles Goodman
Shelly Manne

Cinematography by
James Crabe
Jack N. Green

Film Editing by
Lois Freeman-Fox
Mallory Gottlieb

Production Design by
Dennis Gassner

Costume Design by
Robert Turturice

Production Management
Ted Zachary	....	executive in charge of production (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dan Kolsrud	....	assistant director

Art Department
Bryan Belair	....	construction coordinator
Kurt V. Hulett	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Petra Bach	....	dialogue editor
Jeffrey A. Humphreys	....	sound recordist
Mel Metcalfe	....	sound re-recording mixer
Alan Robert Murray	....	supervising sound editor
Terry Porter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Hamilton Sterling	....	sound editor
Marshall Winn	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Gary Zink	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Richard Drown	....	stunts
Alexandra Kenworthy	....	stunts
Ernie F. Orsatti	....	stunt coordinator (as Ernie Orsatti)
Pat Romano	....	stunts
Nigel Stern	....	stunts
Mike Tillman	....	stunts (as Michael Tillman)
Jimmy Romano	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mike Tillman	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter N. Green	....	camera intern
Lowell Peterson	....	camera operator
Bruce D. Spellman	....	best boy
Tom Stern	....	gaffer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Robert Q. Mathews	....	costume supervisor: men

Editorial Department
Richard Leeman	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Travis McGehee	....	music video
Curtis Roush	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Shane Greedy	....	production van driver
Craig Lietzke	....	driver

Other crew
James Deeth	....	helicopter pilot
Debra Ginsberg	....	production secretary
Lynette Katselas	....	dialogue coach
David R. Lawson	....	medic
Burton Sharp	....	adr group coordinator
Greg Knapp	....	medic (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Imagine Films Entertainment

Distributors

• TriStar Pictures (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (1988) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video (1990) (Germany) (VHS) (laserdisc)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)

Runtime:

96 min | UK:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-10/7 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Amboy, Mojave Desert, California, USA

Company:

Imagine Films Entertainment

Trivia:

One of five body-swap movies all released around the same time. The others were Big (1988), 18 Again! (1988), Vice Versa (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989).

Goofs:

Factual errors: (Possibly deliberate.) The Hammonds' cat has a male name, "Seymour", but its patches of orange, black and white fur are hallmarks of a calico cat. Virtually all calico cats are female.

Quotes:

Trigger: The name's Trigger, as in "horse," as in "hung like."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gilmore Girls: Like Mother, Like Daughter (#2.7)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Hard Times in the Land of Plenty

Each Other's Lives

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.