Freaky Friday (Dir: Mark Waters, 2003).
Walt Disney Pictures’ Freaky Friday is, to date, the studios’ third of four screen adaptations of Mary Rodgers’ popular 1972 comic novel.
Here a trip to a Chinese restaurant and a mysterious fortune cookie is the catalyst for switching the mind and bodies of overbearing middle age mother Dr Tess Goldman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her rebellious, rock chick teenage daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan). Unfortunately the switch coincides with Tess' marriage rehearsal and Anna's band Pink Slip's chance to audition for a performance slot at House of Blues.
The original Freaky Friday (Gary Nelson, 1976) was met with positive reviews and a moderately successful box office on release. Gaining a larger audience through home video and TV screenings, it is now seen as a highlight of an era in which many of the studios' movies were meet with indifference. Even so, four film adaptations, not to mention a stage musical, in just over 40 years does seem a little excessive. Yet each new version has had its own merits, proving Freaky Friday is a pretty robust brand.
This one deviates from the book significantly. The original movie did too, but with a screenplay by author Mary Rodgers it did capture the spirit of the novel. Here, Heather Hatch and Leslie Dixon’s screenplay offers a fresh and funky update on Rodger's original. Rather than an otherwise ordinary Friday the 13th, this Freaky Friday takes place on the eve of mom's wedding - a conceit also used in the stage musical and subsequent Disney Channel Original Movie adaptation, likewise titled Freaky Friday (Steve Carr, 2019). Mom is now a successful psychiatrist with a bestselling self-help book as opposed to harassed housewife. While this is more reflective of modern times, it does rob the story of the mildly feminist tone of the original. The basic premise of the switch reversing only with mutual understanding is intact, however. Director Mark Waters brings a much needed light touch to the material, never letting it descend into the heavy-handed farce it may have.
Age 16, Lindsay Lohan was already a veteran of the Disney remake, having appeared as twin sisters in The Parent Trap (Nancy Myers, 1998). Evidently making the difficult transition from child star to teen with ease; after subsequent success in Mean Girls (Mark Waters, 2004) and Herbie: Fully Loaded (Angela Robinson, 2005) her career sadly faltered. Her performance here is a reminder of how promising a talent she was, particularly in comedy. Former scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis also proves her comedy chops in what is arguably her best role of the 2000s.
As a personal boyhood favourite, the original Freaky Friday holds a nostalgic resonance which this iteration could not possibly have. However, this movie is still a lot of fun, thanks largely to an appealing cast. A lightweight, funny family movie, this may appeal mostly to tweenage girls, but should be enjoyed by anybody who has ever wished to be someone else for a day.
The original Freaky Friday (Gary Nelson, 1976) was met with positive reviews and a moderately successful box office on release. Gaining a larger audience through home video and TV screenings, it is now seen as a highlight of an era in which many of the studios' movies were meet with indifference. Even so, four film adaptations, not to mention a stage musical, in just over 40 years does seem a little excessive. Yet each new version has had its own merits, proving Freaky Friday is a pretty robust brand.
This one deviates from the book significantly. The original movie did too, but with a screenplay by author Mary Rodgers it did capture the spirit of the novel. Here, Heather Hatch and Leslie Dixon’s screenplay offers a fresh and funky update on Rodger's original. Rather than an otherwise ordinary Friday the 13th, this Freaky Friday takes place on the eve of mom's wedding - a conceit also used in the stage musical and subsequent Disney Channel Original Movie adaptation, likewise titled Freaky Friday (Steve Carr, 2019). Mom is now a successful psychiatrist with a bestselling self-help book as opposed to harassed housewife. While this is more reflective of modern times, it does rob the story of the mildly feminist tone of the original. The basic premise of the switch reversing only with mutual understanding is intact, however. Director Mark Waters brings a much needed light touch to the material, never letting it descend into the heavy-handed farce it may have.
Age 16, Lindsay Lohan was already a veteran of the Disney remake, having appeared as twin sisters in The Parent Trap (Nancy Myers, 1998). Evidently making the difficult transition from child star to teen with ease; after subsequent success in Mean Girls (Mark Waters, 2004) and Herbie: Fully Loaded (Angela Robinson, 2005) her career sadly faltered. Her performance here is a reminder of how promising a talent she was, particularly in comedy. Former scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis also proves her comedy chops in what is arguably her best role of the 2000s.
As a personal boyhood favourite, the original Freaky Friday holds a nostalgic resonance which this iteration could not possibly have. However, this movie is still a lot of fun, thanks largely to an appealing cast. A lightweight, funny family movie, this may appeal mostly to tweenage girls, but should be enjoyed by anybody who has ever wished to be someone else for a day.
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