Although it lacks the charm of the 1947 British film of the same name (directed by Peter Ustinov), this was a better-than-average entry in the cycle of body-swap movies that gripped Hollywood in the late 1980s. Most of it is down to the inspired playing of Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage, who learn that their respective lives are not quite as enjoyable as they imagined when they switch bodies using a magic ancient artefact. The two leads are fresh and convincing in both their personae, and, although sentimentality occasionally rears its head, director Brian Gilbert keeps the action flowing at a pleasing rate.

A mysterious oriental skull transforms a father into his son, and vice versa.