VIDEO CHARTS : Comedies Raking in Summer Rental Dollars

People who have savored the hit Tom Hanks comedy “Big” will probably like “Like Father Like Son,” in which Dudley Moore and his teen-age son Kirk Cameron switch brains--sort of like the plot point of “Big” and a couple of other movies. “Like Father Like Son” debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard magazine rental chart. Its appeal to “Big” fans should swell “Like Father’s” rental audience. Another hot summer comedy, “Overboard,” bounded up three rungs to No. 6. Insiders predict that “Cry Freedom,” the drama about South Africa that audiences avoided and critics rapped, will play better on home video. It’s off to a respectable start on the rental chart, entering at No. 23. Despite its star attractions--namely Faye Dunaway and Mickey Rourke--”Barfly,” about down-and-out drunks, is apparently too grim to attract a huge rental audience. So far, it’s a medium-sized hit--No. 18.

VIDEO CHARTS

Rental Weeks Sales Top Ranking On Rental Chart Rentals Last Week Chart Ranking 1. “Fatal Attraction” 1 3 8 (Paramount) 2. “Throw Momma From the Train” 2 4 -- (Orion) 3. “The Witches of Eastwick” 3 8 -- (Warner Home Video) 4. “The Untouchables” 4 9 18 (Paramount) 5. “Baby Boom” 5 6 -- (CBS/Fox) * “Nuts” -- 1 -- (Warner Home Video)

* Critics were mixed about “Nuts,” a courtroom drama starring Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss, but renters are being turned on by the star power. “Nuts” debuted on the rental chart at No. 9.