This page is about the 1989 movie. For the Farscape episode of the same title, see Dream a Little Dream (Farscape episode).
| Dream a Little Dream | |
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| Directed by | Marc Rocco |
| Produced by | D.E. Eisenberg Marc Rocco |
| Written by | Daniel Jay Franklin Marc Rocco D.E. Eisenberg |
| Starring | Jason Robards Corey Feldman Piper Laurie Meredith Salenger Harry Dean Stanton Corey Haim |
| Cinematography | King Baggot |
| Distributed by | Vestron Video |
| Release date(s) |  March 3, 1989 |
| Running time | 114 min. |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Dream a Little Dream 2 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Dream a Little Dream is a 1989 teen film directed by Marc Rocco and stars Jason Robards, Corey Feldman, Piper Laurie, Meredith Salenger, Harry Dean Stanton and Corey Haim. It was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. Released in 1,019 theaters, it accumulated $5,552,441. This is also the third film featuring the two Coreys. The film's sequel Dream a Little Dream 2 was released in 1995.
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Plot summary
Bobby Keller (Corey Feldman) is a high school student who, while taking a short cut through a backyard in his neighborhood, collides with Lainie Diamond (Meredith Salenger), whom he has been obsessing over recently despite the fact she is the girlfriend of his friend Joel. At the time of the incident, an elderly man named Coleman Ettinger (Jason Robards) is performing a meditation exercise in the yard with his wife Gena (Piper Laurie), thinking that if he can enter a dream state voluntarily he will be forever young, thus being able to spend a longer life with his younger wife. However, the collision forces a body switch between characters. Bobby wakes up in his bedroom to find Dinger (Corey Haim) and his parents asking him if he's okay, but Bobby has no idea who these people are. Coleman is trapped in Bobby Keller's body; he leaves the house to find his wife but returns when he cannot find her or make any sense of the situation. Coleman then plays the role of Bobby when he returns and just wants to go to sleep to see if his dreams will give him any clue to what happened. The real Bobby greets him, who appears to be trapped in Coleman's dream. The real Bobby claims to know how to swap them back but feels that it's not in his best interests to do so. He warns Coleman that if he cannot fix the problem then he will lose his wife forever. Coleman must then figure out how to switch back to his own body within a few days or forever be trapped. However, Lainie doesn't know what has happened to her as it appears that Gena Ettinger has only partially swapped with her, so Keller has little time to convince her of the real situation before she will be lost forever.
Main Cast
- Jason Robards as Coleman Ettinger
- Corey Feldman as Bobby Keller
- Corey Haim as Dinger
- Piper Laurie as Gena Ettinger
- Meredith Salenger as Lainie Diamond
- Harry Dean Stanton as Ike Baker
Music
The soundtrack that accompanies Dream a Little Dream was one of the most popular soundtracks of the late 1980s. It was popular for its unique mix of 1980s rock and classic music. Some songs featured are "Dreams To Remember" by Otis Redding, "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, "Time Runs Wild" by Danny Wilde, "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" by R.E.M., "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" by Timbuk 3, and Michael Damian's "Rock On" where its video clip actually had Corey Feldman, Meredith Salenger and Corey Haim in it. Mickey Thomas, the lead singer of the popular 1980s band Starship, recorded the film's titled theme song and its duet version with Mel Tormé for the soundtrack. The duet version also plays at the end of the film. Thomas appears as the teacher Mr. Pattison in this film.
Track listing
- "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" by Mickey Thomas – 2:52
- "Time Runs Wild" by Danny Wilde – 4:44
- "Whenever There's A Night" by Mike Reno – 3:34
- "Dreams Come True ( Stand Up And Take It)" by Lone Justice – 4:05
- "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison – 3:30
- "It's The End Of The World As We Know It ( And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M. – 4:00
- "Rock On" by Michael Damian – 3:21
- "You'd Better Wait" by Fee Waybill – 3:21
- "Never Turn Away" by Chris Thompson – 3:07
- "I've Got Dreams To Remember" by Otis Redding – 3:12
- "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" by Mel Tormé – 2:51
Reception
The movie made around $2,500,000 in its opening weekend with its widest release in 1,019 theaters. On the following week, its weekend gross dropped dramatically (by around 51%). Its domestic gross came out to be around $5,500,000. Despite its short lived theater release, it has accumulated a cult following through DVD and VHS sales.
Trivia
- On the wall of Keller's room there is a poster for the film The Lost Boys (1987). Both Corey Feldman and Corey Haim starred in The Lost Boys.
- Original Working Title was Long Before Tomorrow.
- Four days before filming, Corey Haim broke his leg and Dinger's character had to be rewritten to include the injury. While his actual cast was removed during filming, he had to wear a fake one for the remainder of the production. In the movie Dinger says that his mother hit him with her car, which is what really happened to Haim.
- Director Marc Rocco's father, Alex Rocco (played the part of Moe Greene in The Godfather) plays the part of Gus Keller in the film.
- A Digimon Tamers episode has the same name as the movie title.
