Freaky Friday (2003)

FREAKY FRIDAY (2003)
http://www.wiredonmovies.com

4/5 stars

REVIEW BY JOHN ULMER

The teenage years are hard. Countless films have been made about that era in every person's life, including this year's controversial "13." And the biggest surprise may be the way Disney handles the subject in "Freaky Friday," not toning down premises as they have before, but rather allowing all to flow freely and still making it a clean, moralistic family film.

Oh, and adulthood is hard, too.

"Freaky Friday" was originally released in 1976. The film starred Jodie Foster, and was never exactly the Disney family classic it meant to be (obviously copying "The Parent Trap's" style). It spawned a lot of copies, including a made-for-TV remake in 1995 with Shelley Long, not to mention a string of late-80s films, such as "Like Father, Like Son"; "18 Again"; and "Vice Versa." All were different variations on the basic premise of adults switching places with their offspring or younger relations, and the two then coming to appreciate their differences.

Now the formula is seeing a steady increase in popularity once again. 2002's "The Hot Chick" (one of the worst of that year) was about a teenage girl who swapped places with a petty criminal. Now Disney is cashing in on something they made some 20 odd years ago, and no one -- myself included -- expected the film to be any good. Surprise, surprise.

Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a widowed psychiatrist with two kids, including Anna (Lindsay Lohan), a 15-year-old highschooler with aspirations of punk rock status -- she and her friends get together in the garage of her house and "jam." (I play guitar and, for the first time since "Back to the Future," it looks as if the filmmakers put some effort to make the guitar players look like they are really playing the darn thing).

"You're ruining my life!" Anna constantly yells. Tess' engaged boyfriend, Ryan (Mark Harmon), isn't sure what's going on between the two, but his attempts at being nice to the kids often backfires. (After Tess removes Anna's bedroom door due to low grades, Harmon tells Anna that it's under the staircase in an effort to make peace with her. "Like I didn't figure that out already," she says.)

When mother and daughter visit a Chinese restaurant and eat some magical fortune cookies, they wake up the next day as always -- expect they're in each other's bodies.

And so here come the jokes. One bets that they can make it in school, the other at work. Tess, in Anna's body, acts like a mature adult. Meanwhile, Anna, in Tess' body, acts like a teenager -- she even gets a makeover.

But there're problems. There's a wedding and a rock band audition, and since they're in each other's bodies, it presents a major dilemma. But if they want to switch back before their big days, then they'll have to learn to appreciate each other's differences.

What a delightful little family film this is! Sweet, gentle, funny, and just plain enjoyable. It doesn't try to be anything it isn't, and in the process becomes a lot more. It has streaks of "Big" and "Vice Versa." I've always enjoyed "Vice Versa" the most out of the many, many body-switching 80s films released simultaneously, and now I've found another worthy addition to the genre.

Annette Bening was originally cast as Tess Coleman, but then Jamie Lee Curtis stepped in. And I'm glad she did. I'm not a very big fan of Curtis, but she can occasionally be quite surprising, and this is one of those cases. Meanwhile, Lindsay Lohan, the little girl from 1998's remake of "The Parent Trap," evokes the same great method of adult channeling as little Fred Savage did in "Vice Versa." As many of my readers probably know, my main problem with "Big" is that Tom Hanks did not act like a 13-year-old, but rather like a 6-year-old. Lohan successfully acts like both an irritating teenager and a mature adult. The two gals' performances really make the movie.

This is one of the most enjoyable treats of the year. Kids will get a kick out of it, and so will parents, and that is precisely the definition of great family filmmaking -- because, let's face it, Disney lost sight of that a few years ago. Looks like they're finally getting back on their feet after a long dry spot.

- John Ulmer
Webmaster of The Movie Portal
http://www.wiredonmovies.com/

Updated daily, offers over one thousand free movie scripts and hundreds of free reviews, plus posters, sounds, quotes, and more.

==========
X-RAMR-ID: 36604
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1231536
X-RT-TitleID: 1124788
X-RT-SourceID: 1382
X-RT-AuthorID: 6769
X-RT-RatingText: 4/5