Like Father Like Son Blu Ray Review (Mill Creek Entertainment)
Like Father Like Son is a 1987 body swap comedy film directed by Rod Daniel (Teen Wolf, K-9, The Super, Beethoven’s 2nd, and Home Alone 4). It was written by Steve Bloom (The Sure Thing, Jack Frost, Overnight Delivery, and Tall Tale) and Lorne Cameron (First Knight, Justice League of America, The Nut Job, and The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave). It was produced by Brian Grazer (Splash, Night Shift, Parenthood, The Doors, Kindergarten Cop, Backdraft, My Girl 1/2, Boomerang, The Cowboy Way, and American Gangster). The budget was $10.5 million and it grossed $34.4 million at the box office worldwide!!!!
Chris Hammond (played by: Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains, Kirk, Left Behind franchise, and The Willies) is a high school senior. He likes a girl at school named Lori (played by: Camille Cooper from Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, Shocker, and Werewolf) who happens to be dating his bully Rick (played by: Micah Grant from Waxwork, To Die For, and High Desert Kill). His father Jack (played by: Dudley Moore from Bedazzled, 10, Arthur 1/2, and Best Defense) is a very successful surgeon and working hard to get a promotion to the position of the chief of staff at his hospital. He also wants his son to become a doctor as well but Chris is not that interested in that type of career choice.
Chris’s friend, Clarence “Trigger” (played by: Sean Astin from The Lord of the Rings franchise, The Goonies, Toy Soldiers, and Encino Man) has an uncle Earl (played by: Bill Morrison from Cyborg and Contemporary Gladiator) who had been bitten by a snake whilst in the desert. Earl had his leg fixed by Native Americans with a body-switching potion called the “Brain-Transference Serum”. Trigger shows Chris how the Brain-Transference Serum works by trying it out on Chris’ cat and dog. The pets instantly switch bodies. Trigger put the Brain Transference Serum in a Tabasco sauce bottle. Jack unwittingly puts it in his Bloody Mary. The serum works by someone ingesting it, then the next person that looks into their eyes switches bodies with them. As Jack looks into his son’s eyes while having a disagreement over a C grade on an important test. The father and son switch bodies. These causes various problems with both of their lives including at school and work. They both become two different people and handle the things completely opposite while trapped in the other body. Can they change back before they both ruin each other’s life????
In the 80’s, the body swap sub-genre was very popular in comedy with such films as Dream a Little Dream, 18 Again!, Vice Versa, All of Me, and Big to name a few. Like Father Like Son was one of the many released at the time but it’s actually one of the best ones made. The script was hilarious, it put two people in very awkward situations that they had to both outcome. You basically get Dudley Moore as Kirk Cameron and Kirk Cameron as Dudley Moore which was very entertaining to watch in Like Father Like Son. Both leads have a blast here and do their best impersonation of each other. I love the odd chemistry here with the two leads. You can feel the tension between the two the entire time, they just don’t click as father and son when it comes to anything which makes this so much fun. Sean Astin is a great sidekick in this and Catherine Hicks (Child’s Play, Death Valley, Peggy Sue Got Married, and 7th Heaven) provides a nice balance when it comes to Jack’s workplace. Camille Cooper is nice eye candy and a solid love interest. Both Patrick O’Neal (Q&A, Under Siege, Chamber of Horrors, and The Stuff) and Micah Grant are world class pricks here which adds a little more entertainment to the end. Like Father Like Son has a very solid supporting cast with lots of familiar faces in it like Margaret Colin (Independence Day), Larry Sellers (Wayne’s World 2), & David Wohl (Revenge of the Nerds). This is definitely a time capsule of the 80’s and it takes you back to those times. Everything from the music. style, lingo, and the look of it.It’s great to see this getting some love in high definition from Mill Creek, RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Mill Creek Entertainment! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer is unfortunately an older one like The Freshman. It’s better than the previous DVD and VHS home video releases but it still look kinda rough. It’s better than nothing but I am not surprised since it’s a catalog title from the Tristar days. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is solid. The dialogue is very clean, the comedy is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. There’s no extras on the disc. It does have a great looking retro VHS style limited edition slipcover. This might be your only option when it comes to this 80’s flick on blu ray, Mill Creek always has cheap prices and great prices on their releases. This one has great replay value. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!! 
