Day 67 -- Dream a Little Dream

Released: March 3rd, 1989
   
Starring: Coery Feldman, Corey Haim, Meredith Salenger
 
Writer/Director: Daniel Jay Franklin, Marc Rocco and D.E. Eisenberg/Marc Rocco

Description: The elderly Coleman (Jason Robards) and the young and brash Bobby (Corey Feldman) learn what life is like from each others point of view when their bodies are unwittingly switched by way of transcendental meditation.

[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]

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I still don't get the appeal of body switching movies. It seems like a narrative crutch that a writer uses to inspire a story idea, instead of telling an original story. And the late 80s were ground zero for the genre.

"Dream a Little Dream" could arguably be the best Coreys film with some votes going to "License to Drive", which isn't saying much given their catalog. For those of you screaming, 'What about "The Lost Boys"?', the Coreys play a supporting role to Jason Patrtic and are not the stars. 1989 was the height of their fame and the tipping point of their careers.

The opening of the movie is very confusing and it takes an explanation by Corey Feldman after the switch occurs to allow the audience to get its bearings. As I understood it, Coleman (Robards) conducts an experiment that goes wrong and he becomes Bobby (Feldman) and a piece of his wife, Gina (Piper Laurie), is inside Lainie (Salenger). It's an intriguing idea that gets off on the wrong foot in the first act and recovers slightly in the second act, but not enough to be compelling. 

Compared to future performances by the Coreys, this is the best and most consistent acting they've ever done. Feldman is both charming and funny in the dual roles, but is still very 80s in everything he does, including a dance number where he imitates Michael Jackson. Haim, again shows off the glimmer of talent that drugs destroyed. It's really a shame that both of these guys got way too wrapped up in the fame and short circuited their careers.

The supporting cast was nothing to write home about, but I can't ignore the performance turned in by Salenger. She is beautiful in the film, and not in that big hair 80s hot, and is sublime as Lainie. She gives enough believability to the character that we never question when she begins to believe Bobby. She is the real star of this film because her role is the most memorable.

The writing and direction are not award-winning, but it is solid enough that it isn't labeled with the stigma of an 80s movie. The movie still has it decade stereotypes, such as half-shirts, full-body leotards with leg warmers, and terrible hairstyles. But they don't depend on it to sell the movie, which allows it to feel more natural than just an advertisement for whatever was popular at the time. The writing has its holes, but after you figure out what's going on, everything else flows.

"Dream a Little Dream" is not a classic movie by any stretch, but it deserves more respect than it gets from audiences. It's not a perfect concept, but there are so few original ideas in the genre. The film is also another reminder of how addiction can derail even the most talented people.

Rating: 5.5/10 -- Fun movie if you get past the first few minutes of the film. The Coreys and Salenger do a marvelous job of making the characters feel natural and realistic. Should be a part of an 80s movie night.