Film
Turnabout
Turnabout is a 1940 Hal Roach screwball comedy, adapted from Thorne Smith's novel, about a squabbling married couple who wish themselves into each other's bodies and lives. It's fast, glib, and packed with of-its-era jokes about who really has the harder deal, husband or wife. Historically important as an early body-swap picture, though its gender politics feel dated next to its energy.
If you liked this
Freaky Friday2003no page yet
The gold standard modern swap comedy — Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis fully commit to the same trick Turnabout ran decades earlier: fix your family by literally becoming the other person.
But Aimed squarely at teens, so the domestic satire is thinner and the stakes are prom, not marriage.
Big1988
Tom Hanks turns a wish-granted swap into pure wonder rather than farce, proving the same magic-wish mechanic Turnabout used for bickering can carry warmth and heartbreak instead.
But It's an age swap, not a gender one, so the marital sparring you loved is entirely absent.
Vice Versa1988no page yet
Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage trade father-son lives via a cursed skull, delivering the same fish-out-of-water panic Turnabout ran on, just with briefcases instead of housework.
But Very much an '80s studio comedy — broader and louder, with less interest in gender politics than the original.
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Your Name.2016
Both hinge on waking up as someone else and being forced to live their daily grind — Turnabout plays it for squabbling laughs, this plays the identical premise as fated, tearful romance.
Two teenagers swap bodies across distance and time in this gorgeous, aching anime — the same premise Turnabout mines for marital comedy, reused here for something devastatingly sincere.
But It's animated, subtitled, and plays the swap for heartbreak rather than laughs — no screwball banter to be found.
More like this (8)
18 Again!1988no page yet
George Burns swaps with his grandson and gets to be young and wisecracking again, riffing on the same be-careful-what-you-wish-for fantasy logic that powers Turnabout's premise.
But Slight and formulaic, coasting entirely on Burns's charm rather than any sharp idea about identity.
The Hot Chick2002no page yet
Rob Schneider as a teenage girl trapped in a grown man's body pushes the gender-swap discomfort Turnabout only hinted at to its most extreme, tasteless conclusion.
But Deliberately crude and juvenile — if you liked Turnabout's relative gentleness, this will feel like a slap.
Like Father Like Son1987no page yet
Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron swap via a magic serum, and the film mines the same walk-in-their-shoes lesson about parents and children misreading each other completely.
But Formulaic teen-comedy plotting, with little of the wit that made the original's arguments actually sting.
It's a Boy Girl Thing2006no page yet
Feuding teen neighbours wake up in each other's bodies, replaying Turnabout's central joke — that contempt for the opposite sex evaporates the moment you're stuck living inside it.
But A glossy teen rom-com with none of the era-specific bite; it's comfort food, not commentary.
The Change-Up2011no page yet
Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman swap lives via magic fountain, asking the grown-up, R-rated version of Turnabout's question: is the other person's life actually easier than yours?
But Deliberately raunchy and profane, trading the original's charm for shock in a way that will put some off.
Freaky2020
A slasher swaps a killer and his teenage victim, proving the body-swap engine can power horror just as easily as comedy, right down to a similar learn-to-love-your-life moral.
But Splashy, gory horror-comedy — if you came for domestic bickering, the chainsaw might come as a shock.
Face/Off1997
Same premise stripped of comedy — what happens when you're forced to live as someone else — pushed from dinner-table squabbles to violent, life-or-death extremes.
John Woo takes 'trapped inside someone else's identity' and turns it into operatic gun-fu, with Travolta and Cage swapping faces and literally becoming each other's mortal enemy.
But Wildly over-the-top action cinema with zero interest in comedy or domestic life — a total tonal 180.
Wife Swap2004no page yet
It literalises Turnabout's central fantasy without the fantasy element — actual husbands and wives forced to live each other's domestic role, arguments and all.
Real families actually trade domestic lives for two weeks, no wish-granting statue required — and the culture-clash friction is often funnier and more revealing than any scripted version.
But Unscripted reality TV with real people's genuine conflict; the schadenfreude can feel a little mean rather than charming.
People
Cast
Adolphe MenjouPhil Manning
Carole LandisSally Willows
John HubbardTim Willows
William GarganJoel Clare
Verree TeasdaleLaura Bannister
Mary AstorMarion Manning
Donald MeekHenry, the Valet
Joyce ComptonIrene Clare
Inez CourtneyMiss Edwards
Franklin PangbornMr. Pingboom
Marjorie MainNora, the Cook
Berton ChurchillJulian Marlowe
Directing
- Hal RoachDirector
Writing
- Berne GilerScreenplay
- John McClainScreenplay
- Mickell NovackScreenplay