Vice Versa

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: March 11, 1988

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

61	METASCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

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Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

Roger Ebert

What makes Vice Versa so wonderful is the way Reinhold and Savage are able to convince us that each body is inhabited by the other character. Read full review

TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)

The story isn't particularly believable, the revelations not fresh or profound, but the film succeeds anyway because of its strong lead performances. A true family picture in the most entertaining sense, VICE VERSA provides laughs for both kids and adults. Read full review

Ted Mahar

Reinhold and Savage play off each other well, and Savage is impressively convincing as a 35-year-old trapped in his son's body. You've seen worse. And will again. [11 Mar 1988]

Bob Thomas

Vice Versa, in fact, is a nifty comedy of the supernatural variety. It benefits from a clever script by Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais (who also produced), lively direction by Brian Gilbert and the inspired teaming of Reinhold and young Savage as the misplaced father and son. [21 Apr 1988]

Jay Scott

If Vice Versa becomes the hit it deserves to be - adults who accompany their kids will be glad they came along for the joyride - Reinhold may be able to flex artistic muscles that have been necessarily flaccid until now. [11 Mar 1988]

Gene Siskel

Shoulders sloping, not quick on the uptake, utterly agog at the adult world of sex and high-powered business, Reinhold's character is a wonder to behold. And Fred Savage is completely inoffensive as the officious boy-man, which is quite an achievement for a child actor. [11 Mar 1988, p.A]

Juan Carlos Coto

Even though its story is nothing new, Vice Versa works. [11 Mar 1988, p.C5]

EmpireWilliam Thomas

Vice Versa knows its place and, rather than attempting anything oddball, sticks close to the body swap formula in order to gain a decent smattering of laughs. No classic, but a watchable comedy that will find an audience. Read full review

Janet Maslin

The film's best scenes are those between the goofily nonchalant Mr. Reinhold and the precociously stern Mr. Savage, however bluntly these moments call attention to the craziness of the premise. Read full review

The Observer (UK)Philip French

Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage are pleasant enough as the father and son who swap roles, but the result is less funny and less stylish than Peter Ustinov's period version of 1947 which starred Roger Livesey and Anthony Newley. [14 Dec 2003, p.8]

Staff (Not Credited)

It is really Savage, best known for his role as the little boy in The Princess Bride, who is particularly winsome as the smart-alecky Dad stuck in his kid’s pint-size body. Read full review

Rita Kempley

Reinhold, as a little boy in a big man's body, looks and acts more like a sheep in shell shock. Savage, however, is an able comic when he takes on his father's yuppie persona, demanding Grey Poupon at the school cafeteria and downing martinis after a hard day in the principal's office. Read full review

Michael Wilmington

Vice Versa may be a better film than Like Father, Like Son, largely because of the direction and Savage’s performance, but it’s still a disappointment. Read full review

Dave Kehr

Though the episodes are monumentally predictable, there's something in the dedication of the cast that maintains a minimal interest. [11 Mar 1988, p.L]

Janis D. Froelich

Vice Versa shouldn't be happening to Judge Reinhold. He's too wonderful to be squandered on a movie plot that could have been shaped by a roomful of third graders with magic markers and lined paper. [11 Mar 1988, p.6]