Double Switch - Tumblr Posts
Movie number 33: Double Switch (David Greenwalt, 1987).
With the creation of The Disney Channel and the return of the Disney anthology series to the ABC network, the 1980s saw a renaissance in Disney made-for-TV movies. Ironically this was at a time when Disney branded cinema releases had all but ground to a halt; 1984 saw no new Disney movies save for Splash (Ron Howard) and Country (Richard Pearce) both distributed under their newly formed ‘adult’ Touchstone Films banner.
Double Switch premiered in two parts on the newly re-titled Disney Sunday Movie series. This contemporary take on Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper stars George Newbern in the dual roles of geeky high school student Matt Bundy and spoiled yet isolated popstar Bartholomew who switch places for some comedy hi-jinks and poignant life lessons. Elizabeth Shue is the only recognisable name in an otherwise no-star cast; the following year would see her breakthrough role in Adventures in Babysitting (Chris Columbus) and two years later she would inherit the part of Jennifer in Back to the Future Part II (Robert Zemeckis, 1989). With its synth rock soundtrack, legwarmer clad dancers and capitalist aesthetics, Double Switch is a movie which could only have been made in the Eighties, the decade of excess. Juxtaposing high school life and rockstar masquerades, Double Switch is kind of John Hughes lite meets Hannah Montana and one gets the feeling that were this made 20 years later we would be shopping for Bartholomew CDs, lunch boxes and backpacks at The Disney Store.
While barely remembered today, this movie isn’t half bad. Sure the music is a little generic and the comedy is somewhat laboured, but Newbern does well in the lead and if, like me, you enjoyed this when you were 12 you will probably get a nostalgic kick out of it now. Disney’s more faithful adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper (Don Chaffey, 1962) and their similarly themed classic The Parent Trap (David Swift, 1961) are both vastly superior movies. Double Switch is nowhere near as essential as those but is entertaining nonsense all the same.
STUDENT EXCHANGE (Dir: Mollie Miller, 1987).
A lightweight teen comedy from Walt Disney Television. Originally screened in two parts on ABC's The Disney Sunday Movie series.
Greeley High School students Carole and Neil are top of the class academically but bottom of the heap socially. Passing themselves of as foreign exchange students in a bid to be noticed, they are a hit with fellow pupils, less so with the school principal. Predictably, things get a little out of hand and the pair are soon wishing they were their old selves again.
Inexplicably, identity switch movies were something of a Disney Sunday Movie staple in the 1980s. The previous season had presented Young Again (Steven Hilliard Stern, 1986), Double Switch (David Greenwalt, 1987) and Double Agent (Michael Vejar, 1987) while the current series also offered Rock 'n' Roll Mom (Michael Schultz, 1988) and 14 Going on 30 (Paul Schneider, 1988). Meanwhile The Disney Channel was churning out a seemingly endless series of sequels to Disney's original switheroo comedy The Parent Trap (David Swift, 1961).
There is little in Student Exchange that is particularly original and nothing that really makes it stand out among the plethora of teenage wish fulfillment movies. Mollie Miller's direction is solid and the performances are fine, although the production cannot quite shake the feeling of an extended TV episode.
It also suffers from a message that is slightly muddled. While it is undoubtedly important to be yourself, Student Exchange makes it seem a lot more fun to be the popular kid and get the girl/boy of your dreams.
Viveka Davis and Todd Field are likeable leads, but perhaps of more interest to modern audiences is the supporting cast. A post-Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner, pre-fame Heather Graham and pre-infamy O J Simpson all put in appearances.
Student Exchange is a pleasant enough nostalgia trip. Teens and tweens of the late 80s may get more out of it than anybody else. But i don't see why younger audiences wouldn't enjoy it too; essentially it is a modern day Disney Channel movie in 1980s clothing. It is predictable and formulaic but also good-natured fun.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of Student Exchange!