The body-swap movie was once a cinema staple. Now it’s back thanks to Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis – but how will their new film compare to these classics?
Imagine seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. It’s a fantasy, for many of us – switching lives with someone who seems to be having an easier time.
But if 2003 film Freaky Friday taught us anything, it’s that swapping bodies creates more problems than it solves. Just ask stars Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, returning in sequel Freakier Friday, which premieres in London tonight (THU).
Here we take a look at the films that gave us the old switcheroo…
Freaky Friday
You might be thinking of the Lindsay Lohan classic – but even that was swapped in to replaced two previous versions. The original, released in 1976, starred Barbara Harris as a mother who changes places with her 13-year-old daughter, played by Jodie Foster.
Based on a children’s book by Mary Rodgers, it dated fast over the years that followed. Teen Annabel struggles with her mum’s role as the perfect housewife, swamped with laundry, groceries and elaborate dinner parties.
The film was first updated in 1995, with a straight-to-TV version where mum Ellen, played by Shelley Long, has a job as a fashion designer. Then in the 2003 film, mum Tess is a high-flying psychiatrist.
Big
It was the film that made Tom Hanks a blockbuster star. The 1980 comedy earned him an Oscar nod for his role as a 13-year-old boy zapped into the body of an adult man.
And like many films of the era, it’s now a slightly uncomfortable watch. For a start, his character hooks up with colleague Susan, played by Elizabeth Perkins, who is very much an adult. The actress has admitted it’s not clear whether they actually have sex, adding: “Where do you draw the line?”
To help Tom get into character, 12-year-old David Moscow, who played his younger self, was filmed performing all his dialogue as a reference. He said in 2013 he was “bright red” during the love scenes.
Face/Off
Ok, so this 1997 film is technically about swapping faces. But can you do that without swapping bodies? It definitely counts.
John Travolta stars as FBI agent Sean Archer, who undergoes experimental surgery to swap his face with that of terrorist Castor Troy, played by Nicolas Cage. If that sounds odd, the directors’ original choices of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone would have been even stranger.
Travolta and Cage spent two weeks together before filming started to learn how to mimic each other. John said in 2019: “I had an easier time of it than Nic did, because Nic has a very specific style.” He eventually advised his co-star to learn by watching his films Phenomenon and Michael.
Being John Malkovich
So far we’ve just looked at your standard one-on-one body swaps. But this 1999 film was a little more ambitious. It gave everyone from John Cusack to Cameron Diaz the chance to spend 15 minutes as Oscar-winning actor John Malkovich.
The heavyweight thesp wasn’t keen to take part at first. In fact, he thought writer Charlie Kaufman must have a personal grudge against him. He also wanted to know why the film wasn’t called ‘Being Tom Cruise’ – and distributors New Line Cinema agreed.
But when he finally signed up, John encouraged director Spike Jonze to take the mickey as much as possible. “I am ridiculous,” he said. “I mean, I am a celebrity. It’s sort of like human sacrifice.”
The Change-Up
It’s been a while since the heyday of the body-swapping genre – and this 2011 comedy probably didn’t help. It was critically panned, scoring a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of a dire 26%.
The film stars Jason Bateman as a married dad-of-three who swaps lives with party boy pal Ryan Reynolds, by weeing into a magic fountain.
The old friends apparently tried a real-life switcheroo for three days during rehearsals. At the time the Arrested Development star was raising two kids, while his friend was dating megastar Scarlett Johansson.
The movie later caused controversy when it emerged female stars Olivia Wilde and Leslie Mann had their boobs replaced by CGI.
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