18 Again! (1988)

By means of an accident the soul of David and his swinging grandfather get swapped. While the grandfather's body is still in coma, he enjoys having a young body again and repairs some facts... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Flaherty

Writers:

Josh Goldstein, Jonathan Prince

Stars:

George Burns, Charlie Schlatter, Tony Roberts

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Burns	...	Jack Watson / David Watson
Charlie Schlatter	...	David Watson / Jack Watson
Tony Roberts	...	Arnie Watson
Anita Morris	...	Madeline
Miriam Flynn	...	Betty Watson
Jennifer Runyon	...	Robin Morrison
Red Buttons	...	Charlie
George DiCenzo	...	Coach
Bernard Fox	...	Horton
Kenneth Tigar	...	Professor Swivet
Anthony Starke	...	Russ
Pauly Shore	...	Barrett
Emory Bass	...	Art Teacher
Josh Devane	...	J.P. (as Joshua Devane)
Benny Baker	...	Red

Storyline

By means of an accident the soul of David and his swinging grandfather get swapped. While the grandfather's body is still in coma, he enjoys having a young body again and repairs some facts in David's life, who he finds not to be self-confident enough.

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Plot Keywords:

grandfather | wish | grandson | body swap | man with glasses | 

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Taglines:

His mind was 81. His body was 18. When Jack Watson found his fountain of youth, it overflowed with comedy.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

18 otra vez

Box Office

Gross:

$2,567,099 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New World Entertainment Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In George Burns's last starring role; he played an 81-year-old when he was already 92.

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Quotes

David Watson: I don't want to hit a lady, Horton, but I wouldn't mind hitting her.

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Connections

Referenced in The Ben Stiller Show: At the Beach (1993)

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Soundtracks

"By The Light Of The Silvery Moon"
Written by Gus Edwards & Edward Madden

User Reviews

The old switcheroo.

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.