Simply Perfect

Sick Product of a Sick System

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

A lot of fun.

To this day the opening song for the movie still can reduce me to tears of happiness. This movie is part of a collection of films Disney Treasures enough to remake multiple times (2 so far) yet is too ashamed to widely rerelease for it shows it's age... which is so much of its charm. Disney treats this like it's something to be embarrassed about... something that wouldn't be cool enough for today's kids.... That's one of the major tradgedys of modern Disney. The story follows a Tomboy who switches places with her mother for a day and the two are forced into better understanding each other by experiencing things through the other eyes. This in turn is treated with light hearted comedy and there are some real laugh out loud moments as well as some heart warming moments. By the end of it the two get back into there right bodies and have both learned something from the experience and grown.

Parents and children are usually at odds in matters of responsibility and what is expected of them. Parents do not have it easy because there are times when they feel they want to step back from their stressed lives in exchange for what they perceive is an easy life their children are living. In turn, children would change places with a parent in that it would give them the freedom to do things their elders are denying them.Basically, that is the premise for this Walt Disney film that is based on the Mary Rodgers novel. Directed by Gary Nelson, the 1976 film pales in comparison to the much better revision of 2003 directed by Marc Waters resulting in a much entertaining film. The problem for this film lays in the fact it is not as funny as the much superior remake that came out almost thirty years later.The only thing going in this version is the wonderful performance by Barbara Harris, an actress that has not been seen much lately, but who always delivered either in her stage work, or in films. It is our loss. Ms. Harris is equally matched by Jodie Foster as the grown up trapped in a young body. John Astin, the wonderful Patsy Kelly playing a housekeeper from hell, Kay Ballard and Ruth Buzzi do their best to save the comedy.

Never particularly loved this movie but it is lifted above the usual Disney fare by Jodie Foster, who was just totally incredible in this. You watch her and she nails the part - her performances in her movies are always better than great but to have been this good as a kid is kinda spooky, she delivers her lines so well. She is just about one of the finest actresses working in movies today along with Meryl Streep. It is so rare for a child to be as mature in performance as Jodie was. I guess the nearest child star in terms of performance is Haley Joel Osment. I have seen the remake with LL and JC but they just do not make such a good job of the parts as Jodie and Barbara (who seems to have disappeared from the movie scene-curse of the older actress).

I don't think it really matters if you see the Jamie Lee Curtis/Lindsay Lohan remake before this, but this original from Disney did pretty much start the body-swap concept. Basically Annabel Andrews (young Golden Globe nominated Jodie Foster) feels hassled by her mother, and her mother Ellen (Family Plot's Golden Globe nominated Barbara Harris) is annoyed with her daughter, they both feel like each other live an easy life. One Friday both wish they could be each other just for one day, so Annabel goes into the body Ellen, and vice versa. For a little while there are a few good points to having each other's bodies, but it soon becomes apparent that the lives they thought were easy actually aren't. In the end, both come to a point where they have to wish themselves back to their own bodies, and it does happen, but both bodies swap places, so Annabel is in the car, and Ellen on eater skis. Also starring John Astin as William Waring Andrews, Patsy Kelly as maid Mrs. Schmauss, Dick Van Patten as Harold Jennings, Vicki Schreck as Virginia and Sorrell Booke as Principal Charles Dilk. Young Foster proves herself a growing (literally) talent, and Harris is good at being youthful, there are some giggles to be had, but I preferred the remake really showing comedic complexities of each other's lives, but you may as well see it for Foster and Harris. It was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "I'd Like to Be You for a Day". Okay!