The body swap genre has been around since the beginning of motion pictures. Similar stories inspired body swapping on film in literature, as is the case with many popular film genres.
A body swap movie depicts the tale of two radically different people who switch identities for a substantial period.
When people swap their bodies, they share their new experiences of feeling sense by replacing their position with a different person.
If you love such movies, we are enlisting some good movies about Body Swapping that you must watch.
Freaky Friday ( 1976)
Director Name – Gary Nelson
Genre – Fantasy/Comedy
Where to watch – Disney + Hotstar
Annabel, an adolescent, is at odds with her mother, Mrs. Andrews, and her younger brother, Ben.
They each desire to share a body for one day at the exact moment one Friday morning, and their wishes are granted, and they exchange bodies.
Meanwhile, Mr. Andrews, the company’s public relations director, is planning a party to support a real estate transaction, and he has the backing of his wife and daughter.
During the day, Annabel and Mrs. Andrews learn about and comprehend one another troubles.
Annabel and her mom switch bodies due to a simultaneous wish.
They quickly overcome their problems and live as each other throughout the day. In some ways, the film is pleasant, yet many gags fall flat. Jodie Foster performed especially as a youngster.
Vice-Versa ( 1978)
Director Name – Brian Gilbert
Genre – Fantasy / Comedy
Where to Watch – PrimeVideo
In this contemporary version of the classic tale, father Marshall with son Charlie makes a desire to trade places while clutching a precious magical Thai skull. The youngster is overjoyed to be independent, but his father is appalled.
Reinhold struggles to sell himself as an adult and does not do much better as a youngster, overdoing the boyish act, although he is cute enough to get away with it.
However, Fred Savage performs wonderfully in both roles, especially as a Martini-swigging, Grey Poupon-requesting, the bird-flapping guy in the youngster’s body from The Wonder Years.
On the plus side, this is among the few films that inventively visualize the physiological transition as people trade heights and looks.
It is a well-made comedy with plenty of chuckles. It’s also wonderful to see the early parts of Jane Lynch and Richard Kind.
It’s A Boy Girl Thing ( 2006)
Director – Nick Hurran
Genre – Romance / Comedy
Where to Watch – Netflix
This is one of the most amusing movies on this list. While not every situation works, it is an impressive effort to take the potential for coarse humor in a sex-swapping comic and turn it into something enjoyable enough.
Much more mature than the Freaky Friday adaptation, this is aimed at the older adolescent market and serves as a gateway picture for Farrelly Brothers films.
Woody and Neil are neighbors who despise one another. She is the child of therapists and hopes to attend Yale; he comes from a lower-income family with a father who has a spatula shop (no, really). The hiring of Sharon Osborne as his mom is also noteworthy.
Due to an Aztec monument’s mysterious powers, the pair switch bodies, and some rather disgusting but frequently humorous antics come.
Boner jokes and the eradication of excessive pubic hair aren’t the most sophisticated themes for comedy, but they’re handled okay here.
Be warned; there is some inappropriate language and stereotyping in the picture, as well as a fairly ugly, exploitative shower scene capped off with some fat-shaming.
The Change-Up (2011)
Director – David Dobkin
Genre – Comedy / Fantasy
Where to Watch – Netflix
Despite receiving a critical slam upon its initial release, The Change-Up advantages from center performances by two of the best comic performers of their generation, Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, who play both to and against type, as well as a brilliant supporting cast led by the always hilarious Leslie Mann.
Mitch, a lazy bachelor, and Dave, a family guy, go on a bender and conclude the night peeing into a magical fountain that leads them to…well, you can usually point it out by now.
Bateman, in particular, seemed to be embracing the opportunity to transcend his typical deadpan delivery and channel Reynold’s exuberant demeanor. Brilliant humor is also built on the cliche of “showing them that is who you say they are.”
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (2017)
Director – Jake Kasdan
Genre – Comedy / Action
Where to Watch – Netflix
This movie has a fantastic ensemble cast and a unique take on the body swap idea, but only a shaky connection to the popular nineties original Jumanji.
To make the body swap feature work, the strategy game Jumanji suddenly morphs into a video game that draws players in and converts them into the game’s characters.
It mines laughs from our youthful heroes’ astonishment or fear at being The Rock, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black, as well as the changes in their social position as a consequence, and the difference between their original personality and body swap personality – The Rock, for example, acting like a terrified coward.
It’s difficult not to compare the film to the classic, in which Robin Williams reined in his freewheeling improv technique to create a more muted performance as the broken Alan Parrish.
Casting characters as large and expansive as Jack Black and Kevin Hart ensured that the mood would not compete with the lovely original, but as the action begins, there is enough fun to be had with Indiana Jones.
Your Name (2016)
Director – Makoto Shinkai
Genre – Romance/ Fantasy
Where to Watch – PrimeVideo
Your Name, one of the best body-swapping movies of 2016, is a magnificent anime that embraces the dramatic and emotional possibilities of the body-swap cliche and scores a home run – not without subtle comedy, of course.
Taki resides in Tokyo, whereas Mitusha lives in a remote town. Both find themself waking up from time to time after having switched bodies, and they begin writing notes to keep each other updated on what they’ve been up to throughout the swap until they develop affection toward each other.
A twist that would be criminal to reveal fully exploits the consciousness-swapping trope and takes it in an entirely new direction.
The personal implications of being inside someone are handled for dramatic and comedic effect, with a standing joke regarding Taki fondling Mitusha’s breasts every time he wakes up in her body being addressed without appearing creepy. If you have to watch one of the films on this list, make it this one.
17 Again ( 2009)
Director – Burr Steers
Genre – Comedy / Romance
Where to Watch – Netflix
Mike O’Donnell, a popular high school senior, appears to have it all. He is a top athlete on his way to a college scholarship until he chooses to give it up to marry his high school love, Scarlet, who is pregnant.
Twenty years later, a mature Mike discovers that his life is not going as planned.
He is divorced from his wife, Scarlett. He now lives with his rich software genius geek, and closest mate, Ned Freedman; his work at a pharmaceutical business is on hold, and his ties with his youngsters are nonexistent.
After being turned up for another advancement at work, he goes to his high school to reflect on his basketball accomplishments and the life he may have had.
While reminiscing his golden days, he is called by a cleaner who tells him how much better things were when he was 17.
Mike was driving home from high school when he noticed the mystery janitor standing on the balcony, about to leap into the Los Angeles River.
Big (1988)
Director – Penny Marshall
Genre – Fantasy / Comedy
Where to Watch – Youtube
Twelve-year-old Josh Baskin is waiting in line to ride a carnival attraction. An attractive girl he knows from school approaches him behind and starts chatting with him.
When he comes to the front, he is shorter than the wooden cut used to evaluate whether a rider is big enough, and he is humiliated.
He then inserts a coin into a fortune-telling machine and is instructed to make a wish. In the aftermath of his disgrace, he wishes he were bigger.
The wish was realized when Josh awoke the following day, much to his surprise.
Though he is still a twelve-year-old child in every sense but physical, he must leave home, and once he realizes that addressing his situation would take a long time, he has no alternative but to attempt to make his way. This includes finding a job and mixing in the world of grownups.
The film’s true beauty rests in the revelation that an adult who can retain the enthusiasm of youth is to be admired.
While how this message is presented is very unusual, the communication is done with insight and clarity.
13 Going On 30 ( 2004)
Director Name – Gary Winick
Genre – Romance / Fantasy
Where to Watch – Netflix
Jenna Rink, a 13-year-old girl, aspires to be 30 in the hopes that it will help her overcome her unpopularity at school.
She is especially eager to join the “Six Chicks,” a school clique led by Lucy “Tom-Tom” Wyman who manipulates Jenna’s desire to fit in.
Jenna’s best buddy, Matt Flamhaff, gifts her a doll dream house he created for her and a packet of “magic wishing dust” to sprinkle on the roof of the house for her birthday.
Jenna Rink, the outcast schoolgirl, wishes to grow up and be cool more than anything else.
Then, on her otherwise, disastrous thirteenth birthday, a sprinkling of dust and a dash of magic grant Jenna’s desire, and the gawky adolescent wakes up in 2004 Manhattan as a voluptuous fashionista and editor of Poise, her favorite magazine.
An exciting new existence awaits the wide-eyed girl, who must figure out how to be a lady; discover what happened to Matt, her long-lost high school best buddy; and see through Jenna’s lovely exterior.
Featured Image Source: IMDb