My Review of Freaky Friday (2003)

 

Written by Heather Hach And Leslie Dixon

Directed by Mark Waters

Anna: "I'm old!"

Tess: "I beg your pardon!"

Anna: "Oh, I'm like the Cryptkeeper!"

With the sequel currently in theatres, it was time to go back and rewatch the original. It's been a long while but I can say that it definitely holds up.

Back in 2003, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan were in interesting places in their careers. Here, they're a mother and daughter duo - psychologist Tess Coleman and rebellious teen wannabe musician Anna.

Both Tess and Anna would drive each other to distraction with Anna also not being particularly pleased that her mother was getting married to Ryan Volvo (Mark Harmon). Throw in a bratty younger brother, Harry (Ryan Malgarini) and a dotty grandfather, Alan (Harold Gould) and Anna was in bigger rebellion mode.

A trip out in a family restaurant and a refusal to be permitted to attend a music contest for her band, Pink Slip and Anna became even more at odds with Tess. Throw in some fortune cookies, courtesy of Pei Pei's mother (Lucille Soong) and soon enough, both Anna and Tess have swapped bodies. 

The body swap was where the movie had its most fun. Yes, both Tess and Anna freaked out but it didn't long for one to dress up as the other dressed down. It also didn't take long for both of them to sabotage/improve each others lives while Anna's crush on Jake (Chad Michael Murray) took a rather humourous turn.

The rest of the movie hinged on both Anna and Tess having to learn a lesson about the other and while it took them going through a wedding rehearsal and Pink Slip's performance at the Wango Tango, I did love how they eventually regained their bodies. By the end of this movie, both Tess and Anna definitely had a better appreciation for each other.

- Other characters include Anna's bandmates, Maddie (Christina Viddal) and Peg (Harley Hudson), restaurant manager, Pei Pei (Rosalind Chao), teacher Mr Bates (Steve Tobolowsly) and Tess's patient, Evan (Willie Carson).

- This is the fifth movie in the franchise, following a loose trilogy and a standalone movie.

- Standout music: Bowling For Soup's Baby One More Time and Pink Slip's Take Me Away.

- Chronology: 2003 California. Anna's mentioned to be fifteen in the movie.

Freaky Friday is a lot of fun to be had. Both Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan did a wonderful job with the body swap hijinks between Tess and Anna. There's so many genuinely funny moments throughout.

Rating: 8 out of 10