14 Going on 30 (1988 TV Movie) User Reviews

Don't mistake it for Jennifer Garner's 2004 romantic comedy

[lisafordeay · 5/10 · 8 June 2013]

This made for TV movie is about a young boy called Danny who's best friend is a real nerd.His going to school and he has a huge crush on a girl that goes there. But the problem is that the girl that he actually has a crush on is IN FACT his SCHOOL TEACHER.So his friend who has made a growth machine decides to use it in order to get close to her(as he wanted to tell his school teacher that the man she's about to marry is a total idiot,and she doesn't believe him cause his a kid).But when Danny does use the growth machine,he ends up as a 30 yr old handsome man who goes undercover as the new principal.But problems arise when his crush(the school teacher)actually falls in LOVE WITH HIM.

So will they,won't they get together.

YES its slightly creepy that a 14 yr old boy is in love with a woman 20 years his junior but hey stick around to the ending and you will realise that its (and im really not kidding here) cute.

I haven't seen this movie in a very long time as I saw it on TV and on YouTube last year(btw its still on there so you can catch it out).

Bottom line if you love body swapping movies and romantic comedies then check it out.

For me im giving it a 5

wow . amazing

[saskpareki · 6/10 · 5 February 2022]

For a tv movie .. in 1988 .. it deserves so much more. What a nice warm kind of funny movie. Saw it 34 years later and i didnt regret it. So .. only the best to say about it.

Pretty good fantasy, from mindswap genre.

[Psyche-8 · 6 March 2001]

If you ask me, this film fits firmly into the "Vice Versa", "Like Father, Like Son", child-magically-becoming-adult movies. It is perhaps most similar in style to "Big", when a young boy makes a wish on a fairground arcade game to "be big", and then when he wakes up the next morning, he's Tom Hanks!

I saw this movie as a child and really enjoyed it. Anyone who has had an unrequited crush on someone completely unreachable, ie teacher, much older adult, will find this movie particularly moving. As will many high school students, who would love to have been given the prospect of running their school for a week - changing uniforms, abolishing homework, introducing half days etc. Danny is hopelessly in love with one of his teachers, but knows he could never have her, not just because of the age gap and the fact that he is her pupil, but because she is dating the high school coach. Magically, he becomes an adult (but still with the brain of a 14 year old) and sets about wooing her. It is a non-demanding, sweet, enjoyable little fantasy which I have never forgotten, even though I have only seen it a couple of times.

Just don't set about trying to analyse the plot and just sit back and suspend your disbelief for a while.

Hidden treasure

[MartianOctocretr5 · 8/10 · 17 June 2010]

Copies of this are rare, but hunt one down; this little gem is worth the search. It's a lesser-known cousin of "Big," the Tom Hanks smash released about the same time. As good as Big is, I found this one to be more re-watchable. (Don't confuse it with the similarly titled 13 going on 30, the Jennifer Garner vehicle, which also delved into the kid-turns-into-adult theme.)

It's optimistic and sweet, and has a lot of heart. That's because it remembers it's a fantasy right to the end, something these other Big-type movies don't quite do. This one maintains its focus of what the 14 year old's dream was at the outset, and resolves it in an appealing way. It doesn't derail itself with adult angst stuff, as the others have done.

Basically, a teen has a crush on his young home-room teacher, who is engaged to his loudmouth gym coach, an arrogant oaf who runs Phys Ed classes like a military dictatorship. A series of well-timed opportunities turns the kid temporarily into an adult, the new principal of the school. He sets out to stop the marriage, with some comic results. The entire story is threaded well, and the final scene is endearing. For a limited budget made-for-TV movie, this is a keeper.

Watch it if you can...

[chrissmith-07201 · 8/10 · 2 April 2018]

Great little film that's 30 years' old but it's a true gem and is a feel good movie with a nice twist. Difficult to buy as out of print but if you can see it on a download, don't miss it as it's a fun afternoon!!

Every Kid Wants to go to this High School

[masterchefmatt · 8 March 2001]

"Every Kid wants to go to this high school!" That is the direct quoute for the introduction to the movie when it aired in January of 1988. This is a great film that was one of many in the Disney Sunday Movies. This film has earned more credit then it has gotten. Young Danny steps into Loyds "Growth" machine and becomes 30 years old in a matter of seconds. He goes to school trying to stop his teacher Mrs. Noble, that he happens to have a crush on, from marrying the Gym class bully "JackJawKelton" But what happens is way more interesting. He is mistaken to be the new principle and he kind of plays along. In this Film, Bryan Adams's "Only The Strong Survive" made it's opening. But it is not credited any where on IMDb and it should be. I have emailed Disney about bringing back some of these classic films and have not made much progress. If Disney does bring these back, I suggest you watch this one. If you have seen this film, I recomend you check out "Earth Star Voyager on the Internet Movie Database.

I Liked It!

[Monkey-D-Luffy · 30 April 2010]

This is a fantasy movie and it's the main actor Steven Eckholdt who makes it work and makes the whole premise be believable. He plays the role of a teenager who becomes an adult overnight, literally. The similarity to Big is not that much distracting. Eckholdt tries to woo his teacher and stumbles on the way till he succeeds, sort of. The main actor gives off a lot of boyish charm, because in his head he is still a teenager, of course. The ending is supposed to please everybody. But for me it works. I haven't seen this movie in a long time but I remember it quite vividly. I gave this film an 8, partly for nostalgic value. I say go for it if you want a break from the normal romantic comedies.