As part of a new series of articles that will list the Best Films of a subgenre, we’ll be starting by outlining the Best Body Swap films to see. In previous articles on the Body Swap film subgenre, we outlined Top Body Swap Films You Haven’t Seen , More Body Swap Films You Haven’t Seen, Even More Body Swap Films You Haven’t Seen and New Body Swap Films. While these “Films You Haven’t Seen” lists primarily included lesser-known and rare films of the Body Swap subgenre, this new series of “Best Of” films will be more traditional by outlining the very best Top 20 films from a particular subgenre. We have also recently created a few Body Swap-themed Best Of articles you can read below:
Many films in our “Best Of” lists will likely be familiar to you as we will include some of the more popular films within the subgenre. However, we’ll also be including films you might not have seen if they make it into our rankings of the Top 20. Films in this list will include male to male body swaps, younger to older body swaps, older to younger body swaps, male to female body swaps, female to male body swaps and a couple of films that feature multiple body swaps within the same film.
We included some updated text below from our first Body Swap article if you’d like more information on the Body Swap Film subgenre.
Of all the Comedy Film subgenres, Body Swap Films tend to follow a few tried and true themes. These themes include gender body swaps and age body swaps. Two sub-themes that are also explored in this subgenre are reincarnation and time travel where a person from the present occupies their same self or someone else in the past or future. Body Switch films are also generally considered part of the Body Swap film subgenre.
The Body Swap subgenre was represented in the 1970’s by a few films – mainly Freaky Friday (1976) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). It wasn’t until the 1980’s that this subgenre became popular with a rash of films from 1984 – 1989. These films included All of Me (1984), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Like Father Like Son (1987), Vice Versa (1988) and 18 Again! (1988). The King of Body Swap Films actually came at the end of this trend with Tom Hanks in Big (1988). Big is by far the most popular Body Swap film and and helped define the subgenre moving forward.
As other past trends have shown, it wasn’t until the 2000’s that we again saw a repeat of the Body Swap Film subgenre with films such as The Hot Chick (2002), the remake of Freaky Friday (2003), 13 Going on 30 (2004), and 17 Again (2009). Most recently we’ve seen a variation of the Body Swap subgenre crossover with the Superhero/Comic subgenre and Action-Adventure subgenre with Shazam! (2019) and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017).
The 2000’s have seen two Body Swap films to date with Freaky (2020) and Swap Me, Baby (2022).
Our list of Body Swap Films includes over 65+ films that span different genres including Comedy, Science Fiction and even Horror. For films that are not technically Body Swap films but utilize similar themes (i.e. a person explores a parallel timeline where their life is different), our list of Contemporary & Urban Fantasy Films and list of Alternate History Films will most likely include those types of films. Our list of Family Films With Animals will have films that also aren’t necessarily body swap films but feature a human becoming an animal or inhabiting the body of an animal. Films such as The Shaggy Dog (2006) would be found in this collection.
We have embedded a compilation video of The Best Films of the Body Swap Film Subgenre and more details on these films can be found in the list below. Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
The Best Films of the Body Swap Film Subgenre Ranked 20-1:
#20 13 Going on 30 (2004) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3VZZpz6
#19 Miss Change (2013) Where to Stream / Buy: N/A
#18 Heaven Can Wait (1978) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3uWZvfc
#17 All of Me (1984) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3UjmjQs
#16 It’s a Boy Girl Thing (2006) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3OU8cQp
#15 18 Again! (1988) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3EWEKor
#14 Your Name. (2016) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3udGDrV
#13 The Dude in Me (2019) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3AZJHeS
#12 Prelude To A Kiss (1992) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3OWnvbj
#11 Didier (1997) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3VCMcM2
#10
Freaky Friday
Plot: School girl Annabel is hassled by her mother, and Mrs. Andrews is annoyed with her daughter, Annabel. They both think that the other has an easy life. On a normal Friday morning, both complain about each other and wish they could have the easy life of their daughter/mother for just one day and their wishes come true as a bit of magic puts Annabel in Mrs. Andrews body and vice versa. They both have a Freaky Friday.
KBZ’s Take: Though the original film produced a few notable remakes with Freaky Friday (1995) and Freaky Friday (2003), the original film is still the best of the bunch. Though the original film is dated (as it was made in 1976), it still has the best performances of the Freaky Friday movies with Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster and swapping mother and daughter bodies (respectively). Their performances carry the film and none of the remakes can quite capture the magic that Foster and Harris brought to the original film.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Fxd7CG
#9
Detention
Plot: As a killer named Cinderhella stalks the student body at the high school in Grizzly Lake, a group of co-eds band together to survive while they’re all serving detention.
KBZ’s Take: This was a bit of a controversial film for our #1 pick in our More Body Swap Films You Haven’t Seen list as it’s a film that isn’t about one subgenre or theme. It’s a Teen Comedy, Slasher Film, Time Travel Film and Body Swap Film all blended together for a strange yet fun experience. This film also has a very frenetic presentation with constant text on the screen and quick edits that might turn off older viewers. But in our opinion, the presentation helps augment the fast-paced life and thoughts of the teens in the film.
As for the Body Swap theme in the film, it involves one of the teens that has body swapped with her mother and the teens need to travel back in time to 1992 to stop the end of the world. It’s a convoluted plot but somehow works thanks to a very funny script and performances from Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell and Spencer Locke. It’s not your typical Body Swap subgenre film but one that fans of the subgenre shouldn’t miss.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ucFLnr
Plot: Woo-jin, a furniture designer who wakes up in a different body every day, falls for Yi-soo, a woman he meets through his work.
KBZ’s Take: This is a beautiful film and one of the best romantic dramas you will see. Like Every Day, it straddles the boundaries of Body Swap films as Woo-jin isn’t technically swapping bodies, but waking up in the body of a new person every day. But that theme is one that hasn’t been explored in ways this film excels at. It doesn’t use usual Body Swap film tropes but rather takes a more realistic view of how both the person who has a different body each day would act and how a loved one might perceive him/her. It’s an emotional film so don’t go into this film expecting a Body Swap comedy. If you’re looking for a unique romantic drama that touches on some Body Swap themes, then move this film to the top of your queue right away.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ueC7t1
Plot: One messy science journalist (Tash) and a neat television host (Brett). Two very different people whose relationship is nose diving to get the opportunity to experience life in their partners shoes when they wake up one morning in each other’s bodies. Valuable lessons are learned by each as they both must adjust to very different lives.
KBZ’s Take: We’ll be the first to admit this film flew under our radar for quite some time. Though we’re huge fans of Guy Pearce’s films, we somehow missed this one. And that’s why we listed it as #1 on our Even More Body Swap Films You Haven’t Seen list – it’s one of Pearce’s best early performances which shows how he became a Hollywood star.
As for this Australian film, it has a few things going for it. It has unbelievable performances from both Pearce and Claudia Karvan as the man and woman who swap bodies. And we have to say, it’s some of the best dual performances (acting as man and woman) we have seen in any Body Swap film.
Second, it does veer into the Raunchy Comedy side with some very funny scenes that were ahead of their time in the subgenre.
Finally, the film builds its comedy off the heart of the film – two extremely mismatched people who experience the other person’s side and grow from it.
It’s one of the best films of the subgenre and we’re making it our mission to highlight it for more exposure so fans of the subgenre don’t miss out.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3OVN647
Plot: A married man and his bachelor friend swap bodies.
KBZ’s Take: Unlike most body swap films, The Change-Up explores more “What If?” scenarios that are found in other films such as The Family Man and Hot Tub Time Machine. Ryan Reynolds (Mitch) and Jason Bateman (Dave) own their roles playing against type to great comedic effect. The film has many hilarious moments but none funnier than when Mitch and Dave try to explain their body switch to Dave’s wife.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Fl2zaY
#5
17 Again
Plot: A man gets a chance to relive his life as a younger version of himself.
KBZ’s Take: This film was likely seen by the younger generation when Zac Efron was in his acting prime. However, for anybody who has not seen this film, it’s one of the best Body Swap comedies out there. Though it follows a lot of the usual Body Swap tropes, what makes the film are Zac Efron and Thomas Lennon’s performances. Thomas Lennon in particular plays one of the funniest ‘sidekicks’ in recent memory as a grown up that hasn’t let go of his Star Wars infatuation from his youth. It’s worth seeing the film for his role alone…
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3XP9fVW
#4
Freaky
Plot: A serial killer swaps bodies with a 17-year-old girl.
KBZ’s Take: If you enjoyed Christopher Landon’s Happy Death Day (2017) and Happy Death Day 2U (2019), then you’ll also enjoy this film (if not more). Similar to how Happy Death Day created a unique experience by meshing together the Time Loop and Slasher Film subgenres, Freaky molds the Serial Killer and Body Swap subgenres into a hilarious yet often suspenseful creation. Highly recommended film to see especially for Vince Vaughn’s many hilarious physical moments as the ‘teen girl’.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3OS7B1M
#3
Shazam!
Plot: A boy is given the ability to become an adult superhero in times of need with a single magic word.
KBZ’s Take: While Big (1988) will always be the best Body Swap film to introduce your kids to, Shazam is close behind as the second. Though DC Comics took a more adult and darker tone with their DCEU (DC Extended Universe) films, Shazam! was an outlier that appealed to all age ranges and was often hilarious. It somehow makes overused and tired Body Swap film tropes fresh with Zachary Levi giving a career defining performance to rival Tom Hanks in Big.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3FVXhTp
Plot: A puppeteer finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich.
KBZ’s Take: There isn’t really a comedy subgenre to define what happens when you put Charlie Kaufman together with Spike Jonze. Like many of Charlie Kaufman’s scripts, his utterly weird characters and situations become a comedy subgenre unto itself. Trying to explain this film is useless as it’s an experience you must see for yourself. This is by far the best and most unique Body Swap film you’ll ever see as it literally redefines each and every Body Swap film trope out there. The performances from John Cusack, Catherine Keener, Cameron Diaz and John Malkovich are perfect and show how a weird script, weird direction and weird performances can create a once in a lifetime cinematic experience.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3B2QlB8
#1
Big
Plot: When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big, he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight. But he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.
KBZ’s Take: Though we struggled with putting Shazam! (2019) in our top spot, we had to go with Big. It’s the first film people will mention when thinking of the Body Swap subgenre, it’s arguably one of Tom Hanks best performances across a storied career and it reinvigorated the subgenre after a rash of lesser late 80’s Body Swap films – Like Father Like Son (1987), Vice Versa (1988) and 18 Again! (1988).
Though the film uses a basic Body Swap theme, it’s really the Tom Hanks show throughout. You really think Tom Hanks the adult is a 13-year-old boy. The film also excels with its main theme – the balance between being a kid and wanting to ‘grow up’ vs. the responsibilities you have once you’re an adult. Even though the film is over 30 years old, it’s still a film many adults can (and will) watch to recapture the joys of youth.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3BGMnOO
