No chance. I think this film is underrated for these reasons (from the trivia section):
One of the more demanding aspects of the film for actors Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron was having to learn to play two separate roles. Each had to play a wild zany young teenager and an obsessive middle-aged medical genius. Director Rod Daniel said: "It was very, very difficult. We spent rehearsal time working on those moments when they had to deal with each other in each other's bodies and less on the physical stuff which tends to take care of itself. It really is difficult because it's like retraining".
Star Dudley Moore was immediately smitten with Like Father Like Son (1987). Moore said: "The idea of swapping bodies appealed to me, and it was a good excuse to be a kid again . . . although I don't need an excuse. It was just a fun story. I had been sixteen years old once, and I don't pretend to be a professional adult. I really didn't play a sixteen year old. I think that would have been mildly boring. So, instead of going for accuracy, we went for the fun of the situation. I was playing an attitude, not an age."
The bits in bold sum up the difference between this film and the other switch movies. Dudley Moore was talented enough to know not to act out being a straight up teenager but rather the spirit of being one. Kirk Cameron did something similar and played the older doctor with an understated eccentricity - he's funny because he's not trying to be.
The quality of acting in this movie and how both characters relate to each other is the absolute key to it working. The dynamic between Cameron and Moore makes Like Father Like Son stand out. They really brought their roles to life.
He was my C.O. in Nam. CIA listed him as MIA but the V.A. ID'd his M.O. and put out an APB.
reply
share