With their vibrant turns, Harris and Foster make the movie. The idea of body reversals may not be a new one but it's never been done better than here. Mom (Harris) snipes at daughter (Foster) who still does her own thing anyway. So what would each do if they had role reversals for a day. What would Mom do if she were suddenly in daughter's body and vice-versa. So it's a 30-year old in a teenager's body and a teenager in a wife-mother's body. The concept's loaded with funny potential without much trying. Mom learns what it's like to be in school again, especially when grappling with a new-fangled typewriter, while daughter cooks for Dad's (Astin) big business buffet, with something called an "oven".
The material, of course, makes the laughs easy to come by. Still, the two leads shine in their respective roles. Some of the material can get touchy as when daughter uses Mom's mature figure to tempt neighbor boy. Nonetheless, it's humorously finessed. Hard to believe Foster really is only 13 given her abilities. Good to see such movie vets as Marie Windsor, Patsy Kelly, and Iris Adrian picking up paydays. I had to check the cast list twice to make sure it really was noir vamp Windsor playing a teacher, of all things. Anyway, except for the overdone madcap of the finale, the movie's a delight, even for non-Disney viewers like myself.
The material, of course, makes the laughs easy to come by. Still, the two leads shine in their respective roles. Some of the material can get touchy as when daughter uses Mom's mature figure to tempt neighbor boy. Nonetheless, it's humorously finessed. Hard to believe Foster really is only 13 given her abilities. Good to see such movie vets as Marie Windsor, Patsy Kelly, and Iris Adrian picking up paydays. I had to check the cast list twice to make sure it really was noir vamp Windsor playing a teacher, of all things. Anyway, except for the overdone madcap of the finale, the movie's a delight, even for non-Disney viewers like myself.