Twentieth Century Fox Every so often, a film introduces a premise or plot device so reusable that it almost becomes a subgenre unto itself. The classic body swap is no exception. It occurs when a major character (or characters) ends up in the body of another person or animal. Conflict typically follows but so too do important themes and lessons, with the protagonist coming of age by seeing the world through someone (or something) else’s eyes. More recent examples of body-swap movies include the 2020 horror comedy “Freaky” and the 2009 teen film “17 Again.” Both films continue a tradition that’s been around for decades and proven more versatile than one might think. In the 1970 comedy “Watermelon Man,” body swapping dove into social themes by having a white racist wake up as a Black man. Or consider the 1984 comedy “All of Me,” which sees a male lawyer and female millionaire share the same body. In the 1980s, body swapping exploded across the cultural landscape toward the decade’s end. Within two years, there came “Big,” “Vice Versa,” “Like Father, Like Son,” and “18 Again!”–all of which made use of the gimmick. Outside of comedy, sci-fi blockbusters such as James Cameron’s “Avatar” and David Lynch’s surrealist thrillers “Mulholland Drive” and “Lost Highway” all feature body swapping. At least some of these titles appear on the following list of best body-swap movies; read on to find out which ones. Stacker compiled data on all movies where body swapping played a significant role and ranked the top 10 according to IMDb user ratings. At least one major character had to end up in someone else’s body to qualify, be it in a two-way switch or simply the taking over a new corpse. Films had to be feature-length and have at least 10,000 votes (movies before 1960 only needed 2,500). You may also like: Incredible filming locations from popular movies #10. ‘Heaven Can Wait’ (1978) Paramount Pictures – Directors: Warren Beatty, Buck Henry – IMDb user rating: 6.9 – Metascore: 72 – Runtime: 101 minutes Warren Beatty co-directed, co-wrote, produced, and stars in this adaptation of a Harry Segall play. Upon his premature death, a football player (Beatty) returns to Earth by taking over the body of a greedy millionaire. Filmmakers crafted the movie in the vein of Old Hollywood screwball comedies at a time when the subgenre was more or less out of style. It received nine Oscar nominations but only won Best Art Direction. Chris Rock’s 2001 comedy “Down to Earth” was based on the same source material, as was 1941’s “Here Comes Mr. Jordan.” Pixar’s recent blockbuster “Soul” also shares some similar narrative qualities. #9. ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ (2017) Columbia Pictures – Director: Jake Kasdan – IMDb user rating: 6.9 – Metascore: 58 – Runtime: 119 minutes A classic board game laid the unlikely groundwork for a popular film franchise, which kicked off in 1995 and continued with this recent sequel. It doubles as a reboot of sorts and introduces a new cast of characters, each of whom gets sucked into the world of Jumanji. Under the guise of adult avatars, the players must complete the game or perish in the process. The film opened at #2 at the domestic box office but ended up being a surprise smash with nearly $1 billion in global receipts. Stars Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black returned for the 2019 sequel “Jumanji: The Next Level.” #8. ‘Meet Joe Black’ (1998)
Best body swap movies
