Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Dream a Little Dream Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 14, 2022

A lot of people may default to Freaky Friday (or Freaky Friday or Freaky Friday or Freaky Friday) when thinking about so-called "body swap" movies, but perhaps surprisingly, this particular plot device goes back quite a bit further than even the first Freaky Friday, which appeared circa 1976-77. Some folks may find it especially unexpected to find out that one "body swap" source property which was itself adapted into more than one film came out in 1882 (!) in novel form. That novel ultimately became Vice Versa and Vice Versa, among a number of other identically named adaptations. While both Freaky Friday (which many allege is an uncredited adaptation of Vice Versa) and Vice Versa itself were somewhat whimsical in tone, there have been a number of "body swap" or at least "body swap adjacent" films that have plied horror territory, or at least have taken themselves a bit more seriously than either Freaky Friday or Vice Versa in any of their many forms. Audio commentator Jarret Gahan makes a case that Dream a Little Dream probably shouldn't even be considered to be a "body swap" property, since there's a certain psychological limbo present for one of the focal characters, but the fact remains that the plot of this film revolves around the consciousness of a curmudgeonly elder named Coleman Ettinger (Jason Robards) being transferred into the body of punk-esque teen named Bobby Keller (Corey Feldman).

Gahan's analysis is probably right on from a rigorous perspective of some of the plot dynamics, and yet it's probably inarguable that Dream a Little Dream comes off as extremely similar to more traditional body swap outings, at least insofar as it documents the confusion of an aged man finding himself in a teenaged body. And in fact a lot of the putative humor of this piece comes from the mismatch of an elderly consciousness having to deal with all sort of hassles accruing around a teenaged life, in an aspect that could be lifted whole cloth from either Freaky Friday or Vice Versa.

There's also a perhaps debilitating presentational misstep early in the film which tends to undercut what is supposed to be the emotional center of the film, namely Coleman's relationship with his wife Gena (Piper Laurie). The first couple of scenes between these characters are very odd, and whether or not co-writer and director Marc Rocco actually intended things to play this way, it sure seems like Gena is not particularly happy with her spouse and in fact may be dallying a bit with putative "friend" Ike Baker (Harry Dean Staunton). What makes this all kind of head scratchingly peculiar is that what sets Dream a Little Dream apart from some of its body swapping kin, namely that a couple of characters (including Gena) are kind of "trapped" in a dream state and it's up to Coleman (in the body of Bobby) to set things right before they disappear wherever dreams go to die.

A number of interconnected subplots involving a teenaged girl named Lainie Diamond (Meredith Salenger) and Bobby's best bud Dinger (Corey Haim) add little to the proceedings, even with a "doubling up" of body swapping. The whole body swap issue is kind of weird in this film to begin with, since there's no "idol" or other mechanism to make it happen, other than Coleman's meditational forays which include lucid dreaming, and the two teenagers who get swept up into all this nonsense actually don't even really interact with Coleman and Gena when all the crazy swapping activity occurs. It gives the entire foundational element of the plot a kind of dissociative aspect. The actual efforts of Coleman to "penetrate" a dream world in order to get "reality" back to where it belongs gives the film some passing interest, but it also may suggest that this film might have worked better overall had it not been played for such at times questionable laughs.

Dream a Little Dream Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dream a Little Dream is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films' Vestron Video Collector's Series imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As tends to be the case with these Vestron Video Blu-ray releases, there's little to no technical information imparted, other than a generic "digitally restored" emblazoned across the back cover. This presentation offers a mostly nicely robust looking palette (I'll mention a couple of exceptions in a moment), though expectedly the opening optically printed credits sequence looks rough and a bit faded. The dream sequences are all graded toward a very cool ice blue color, and fine detail can suffer just a bit as a result at times. There are some kind of odd downturns in general suffusion not related to any opticals that I could discern, and some of these moments also offer less clarity and fine detail than the bulk of the transfer (see screenshot 19 for one example). There are a number of small but still noticeable blemishes that have made it through whatever "digital restoration" gauntlet was undertaken for the film. Grain resolves naturally.

Dream a Little Dream Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dream a Little Dream features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. The inimitable Mel Tormé contributed vocals to the film (lip synched at times by Jason Robards), and those source cues along with glut of other music (including a cover version of Rock On which became a Number 1 hit in the wake of the film's release) all sound nicely full bodied and distortion free. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Dream a Little Dream Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Film Historian Jarret Gahan


• Young at Heart (HD; 29:40) is an interview with Corey Feldman, who relays several fun anecdotes about the production, including a long story about how Corey Haim got involved.


• When Lightning Strikes (HD; 17:46) is an interview with Executive Producer Lawrence Kasanoff.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:47)


• TV Spots (HD; 1:04)


• Still Gallery (HD; 5:26)

A digital copy is also included. Additionally, packaging features a slipcover.

Dream a Little Dream Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's perhaps just slightly unintentionally humorous to hear a now middle aged Corey Feldman talk about how he took on Dream a Little Dream to prove his acting chops, since the part here is, by Feldman's own admission, kind of an older if no wiser version of the character Feldman played in The Goonies. There also seems to be more than a bit of subtext as Feldman recounts how Haim got involved in the project, though that said, Haim's part is really a throwaway here. There are some interesting elements to the screenplay at times, but unfortunately they're buried beneath some pretty hoary "body swap" clichés. Video encounters a few hurdles but is certainly watchable, and audio is fine. The supplements are also enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.