In 1987-88, a quartet of films with the same basic body-switching premise deluged theaters:
Like Father, Like Son
(1987),
Big
(1988),
Vice Versa
(1988), and
18 Again
(1988). One year later,
Dream a Little Dream
(1989) followed suit. Coleman Ettinger (Jason Robards) is forever scolding the local high school students who use his yard as a shortcut to and from their nearby school. Coleman is not a crotchety old coot, however. He's deeply in love with his wife Gena (Piper Laurie) and is good friends with his next-door neighbor Ike (Harry Dean Stanton). In fact, Coleman is looking for a mystical way to preserve his and Gena's lives forever by transferring their consciousness into the bodies of younger people. One day, student Bobby Keller (Corey Feldman) has a bicycle mishap with Coleman while cutting through the yard, and their minds change places. Now Coleman has the brain of a teenager, while young Bobby uses Coleman's wisdom and life experience to win over the girl of his dreams.
was the directorial debut of Marc Rocco, son of actor Alex Rocco, who costars in a supporting role.