David Watson (Charlie Schlatter) and his friend Barrett (Pauly Shore) are college students. He suffers under his frat brother Russ and pines for Russ's girlfriend Robin Morrison. He has a hard-nosed wealthy businessman grandfather Jack Watson (George Burns). His father Arnie works for Jack and concerned about Jack's wild companion Madeline. On his 81st birthday, Jack wishes to be 18 again. Jack takes David out for the night but they get into a car accident. Jack ends up in a coma. David wakes up with Jack's consciousness. He is surprised at David's sad life and his love of painting instead of business. He confides in friend Charlie (Red Buttons) about the switch.There are two problems with this body-switch movie. Charlie Schlatter doesn't get George Burns quite right. Sometimes he's good but not always. Schlatter needs to do a better Burns impression because everybody knows how he act. As for Burns himself, it would be great for him to do something different. Instead, he's stuck in a coma for most of the movie. Once he goes into a coma, he only gets a few dream sequences where he is the same Burns. The story is the standard body-switch. It has some fun moments but is mostly a disappointment.

OK,I love these "switch"bodies or conscience or whatever sort of out of body experience films you want to call them and so I seek them out.Sadly this film has only one reason to see it and thats the late great George Burns.He has a quite grace that transcends any foolishness his roles call for and this movie calls for a few,least of which is any even remotely believable explanation of why a 81 year oldster switches conscience with his college aged grandson.The grandson, played by Charlie Schlatter, slowly grows on you and the in between'er role played by Tony Roberts is wasted.Red Buttons,Anita Morris and a VERY low keyed Pauly Shore are the only other actors worth noting.The plot is standard older gets younger one last time.Nothing new or earthshaking and the lack of science and VERY dated feel of dress and style makes it fairly boring unless you are really into these sort of films.See a lot better ones first, than see this for Mr.Burns ONLY.There was a sort of funny scene in a history class room about what the "S"inHarry S.Truman's name stood for but that was one of too few.

This was one of 5 movies with similar plots to come out all around the same time; Big, Dream A little Dream, Vice Versa and Like Father Like Son. Now 20 plus years later were still getting them, and this movie didn't have much of an impact on me. Its a fun little 80's comedy with some people I do enjoy seeing on the screen though and that's all that carries it for me.Its about an old man making a birthday wish to be 18 again and you guessed it he gets his wish. He trades places with his 18 year old grandson and goes out into the world and lives his life. The boy was pretty much a loser and a nobody but gramps makes him a cool cat.Director Paul Flaherty shot the film and he's a straight forward director, but hey this is comedy and you gotta let the actors tell the story . The man directed Who's Harry Crumb? and Clifford so he's got my vote.The writers were a bunch of nobodies who mostly spent their careers writing for various TV shows.Acting wise we had the legendary George Burns in his final movie role. He played 81, but in reality he was 92. Burns just smokes his cigars and makes a buttload of money so its cool for him, I have nothing against the guy, but I wish he didn't have to sing in everything. Charlie Schlatter played the 18 year old and I don't know why he wasn't a legend. Hes a great actor, good looking, charming, great personality and just never really did a lot. He played the title role in the short lived Ferris Bueller show in 1990 and he was in the 7th Police Academy film and done a few other films and a ton of voice over work, he should've been huge..Of course great work from Tony Roberts, Red Buttons, love interest Jenny Runyon and one of the 80's best bullies Anthony Starke...great casting .. and then you have Pauly Shore and you wonder how in the hell he ever found work in the film business...hes horrible and he knows it.. Glad he wasn't in this film much.I hated the whole 20's theme dance at the end acting as if anything is cool about that, cause that style of music just seems so lame and could never imagine a Frat party using it as a theme. Also on a musical note, the wild group The Dickies did some music and actually appeared on here..It's worth a watch if you like 80's comedy and haven't seen it, I could name thousands better but I gave it 3 stars it was decent.

The '80s was a good time for this kind of movie. Obviously.Not only was there "18 Again!", but there was "Big", "Like Father, Like Son" and "Vice Versa", all with the same basic idea - regaining lost youth. And in comparison with the others, this falls sorta mid-way.Burns, as always, is great and in fine form. Schlatter does a great Burns imitation in his early scenes especially. Runyon plays basically the same character she did in "Up the Creek" an just about every other part she'd played in movies before this. But she does okay. Morris, slinky and sultry as ever, doesn't disappoint. Everyone else just kind of hangs back and lets the story take care of itself. But that's okay; it does.Let's face it: you can only say good in a movie where Pauly Shore play a halfway tolerable person.Seven stars. Watch "18 Again!" and if you have before, do it "Again!"!