Countless body swap films have been made through the years, a remarkable fact considering that the premise rarely results in an above-average product. Finding yourself in an older or younger body, different sex, or in a different social stratum, continues to fascinate creators over a century after the idea was first explored in a narrative. Body swap stories can be traced back to the 1882 novel Vice Versa by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, in which a businessman becomes his son and, well, vice versa. Living in one another’s shoes, they learn not to take their respective lives for granted and swap back. This plot has barely been deviated from the many times it has been retold.
The premise lends itself to certain scenes or jokes that are returned to time and again - common examples include a scene in which a friend or relative learns of the body swap by the swapped individual revealing something only the two of them could know, or a sex-swap resulting in a character being delighted or repulsed by their new body. It is possible that there is something interesting to be said in a sex-swapping movie in the 2020s, as well as the consent issues which frequently crop up in such films, but to date, neither has been given much consideration beyond the opportunity for gags. However, as we will see, there are films that put a spin on the idea, come up with something fresh, or at least pull off the premise with some panache.
Freaky Friday (1976)
Disney have returned to this premise more than once, but it is fun to go back to their first effort, as dated as it is. Jodie Foster’s Annabel and her mother (Barbara Harris) swap bodies as a result of a simultaneous wish. They get over their predicament remarkably quickly and proceed to live as one another for the day. The film is charming in its way, but a lot of the jokes fall flat. Jodie Foster was as great an actor as a child as she is today, but the remake from 2003 is more suited to modern audience's expectations.
Vice Versa (1988)
In this modern retelling of the original novel, dad Marshall (Judge Reinhold) and son Charlie (Fred Savage) make a wish to swap places whilst holding an invaluable magic Thai skull (don’t ask). The boy is excited to be an adult, but dad is horrified. Reinhold struggles to convince as a grown-up and does not fare much better playing the child, overdoing the boyish shtick, but he is endearing enough to just about get away with it. However, Fred Savage does admirably well in both incarnations of his character, particularly amusing as a Martini-swigging, Grey Poupon-requesting, bird-flpping man in the body of the kid from The Wonder Years. Some jokes that border on the uncomfortable include Charlie being absolutely delighted to be the new owner-operator of his father’s penis, Marshall making disparaging comments about the size of his young son’s testicles, and a scene in which Marshall’s partner, Sam (Corinne Bohrer), thinks she is making out with Marshall when she is in fact making out with Charlie. This is also the first in the list to contain the “proving he is who he says he is by sharing a secret” trope. On a more positive note, this is one of the few films in the list to inventively visualize the bodily transformation as they trade heights and faces, and overall it is a well-made movie with plenty of laughs. It’s also fun to spot Jane Lynch and Richard Kind in early roles.
Wish Upon a Star (1996)
This TV movie sees scream queen Danielle Harris (from the Halloween franchise) as grungy poindexter Hayley, who wishes to trade places with her popular, trendy older sister, Alexia (Katherine Heigl). Having swapped, they fall out and take it in turns to sabotage each other's lives. In time, they learn that they aren’t so different after all, and spend the last act repairing their reputations. Both Heigl and Harris give strong performances with the slight material given to them, although Heigl’s affected laugh is reminiscent of Dolores Umbridge, and it’s hard not to feel for Harris when she is dressed up like Tina Turner and made to do a weirdly sexual song and dance routine. As is the norm, issues of consent are raised by the plot but ignored by the director. A sweet teen film that doesn't really bring anything new to the formula, but young teens will find plenty to love, even if it is only the budget-Clueless 90s fashion.
Freaky Friday (2003)
The influence of 30 years of teen high school movies, from Porky's to John Hughes, results in a much different Freaky Friday in 2003 - it is hardly a raunchy affair, but it is a raunchy watch in comparison to the earlier versions. Lindsay Lohan is alt-rock kid Anna and Jamie Lee Curtis is her mother, Tess. When out for a meal, they are given magic fortune cookies - yes, that old chestnut. Duly swapped, the film then goes through much of the same motions as the original, but it is a lot funnier due in no small part to Lee Curtis, who shows off her comedy chops whilst Lohan also does a pretty good job of playing her stern mother. All in all, it's a fun 2000s watch.
It’s a Boy Girl Thing (2006)
This is one of the funnier efforts on this list, and whilst not every scenario works, it is an admirable effort, taking the potential for crude humor in a sex-swapping comedy and making something entertaining enough. Much more adult than the Freaky Friday remake, this is aimed more at the older teen market and plays a little like a gateway movie for Farrelly Bros films. Bookworm Nell (Samaire Armstrong) and jock Woody (Kevin Zegers) are neighbors who loathe one another. She is the daughter of therapists and aspires to attend Yale; he comes from a less middle-class background with a father who runs a spatula shop (no, really). Also notable is the random casting of Sharon Osborne as his mother. The couple wind up swapping bodies due to the mystical powers of an Aztec statue and what follows are some pretty tasteless but often funny gags. Boner jokes and the removal of abundant pubic hair may not be the most sophisticated topics for comedy, but they are done here with aplomb. Viewers beware - there is some language and stereotyping in the film which does not fly today, and a pretty gross, exploitative shower scene topped off with some fat-shaming for good measure.
The Change-Up (2011)
Easily the best comedy on this list, despite the critical mauling it received upon release, The Change-Up benefits from central performances from two of the best comic actors of their day, Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, playing both to, and against, type, and a brilliant supporting cast including the always hilarious Leslie Mann. Lazy bachelor Mitch (Reynolds) and family man Dave (Bateman) go on a bender and finish the night urinating into a magic fountain that causes them to…well you can probably figure it out by now. Bateman in particular is clearly relishing the opportunity to go beyond his usual deadpan style and ape Reynold’s animated persona. There is also a great gag based on the cliché of the “proving they are who they say they are” bit. Again, there are some issues around consent raised by the film but not actually addressed.
Your Name (2016)
The best movie on this list, and one of the best of 2016, Your Name is a stunning anime that takes the dramatic and romantic potential for the body swap trope and hits a home run - not that it is without gentle humor. Mitusha (Mone Kamishiraishi) lives in a rural town, whilst Taki (Ryūnosuke Kamiki) lives in Tokyo. Both find themselves waking from time to time having swapped bodies, and begin leaving messages to one another to try and stay in the loop about what they have been up to during the swap until they begin to develop feelings for one another. An ingenious twist that would be criminal to spoil really makes the most of the consciousness-swapping trope and takes it in an entirely original direction, and allows for some vivid, trippy imagery which ties together thematic threads: trails of comets, hair ribbons, umbilical cords, traditions, and the ties that bind us. The intimate implications of being literally inside someone are dealt with both for dramatic and comic effect, with a running joke about Taki fondling Mitusha’s breasts every time he wakes in her body being actually addressed and managing not to come across as outright creepy. If you only watch one film from this list, this one is head and shoulders above the rest.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
This blockbuster features a great ensemble cast and a novel twist on the premise of body swap, but only a tenuous connection to the beloved nineties classic Jumanji (in the form of respectful call-backs such as references to the late Robin Williams’ character, and unconvincing CGI animals). In order for the body swap element to make sense, the board game Jumanji magically transforms into a video game which sucks players in, turning them into characters in the game. It mines laughs from our teen protagonists' surprise or horror at becoming The Rock, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black, the changes in their social status as a result, and the clash between their personalities and their new bodies - The Rock acting like a frightened coward, for example. It is hard not to compare the movie to the original, in which Robin Williams reeled in his freewheeling improv-style to deliver something more subdued in his portrayal of the damaged Alan Parrish. Casting actors as big and broad as Jack Black and Kevin Hart was a guarantee that the tone would not compete with the sweet original, but once the action gets going, there is plenty of fun to be had with Indiana Jones-esque set pieces. The bookends, particularly the conclusion, come the closest to capturing the subtle melancholy of the original Jumanji.
Freaky (2020)
The most recent body swap movie is also one of the best or is at least trying something new. Having combined Groundhog Day with slashers in the hit Happy Death Day, director Christopher Landon turned his hand to another mash-up, a slasher-body-swapper with Freaky. Vince Vaughan is the Blissfield Butcher, a serial killer equipped with a voodoo dagger. When he stabs Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton), they trade places. The Butcher becomes free to roam the high school performing a series of grisly murders. Quickly paced, frequently surprising, and gory as hell, it really works. Vaughan in particular has a lot of fun pretending to be a teenage girl. The well-worn clichés are here as usual, but the slasher element brings enough of a fresh angle to make it feel neither like a tired body swapper, nor a tired slasher.