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Movie Review
Freaky Friday
By Lee Tistaert Published August 17, 2003
US Release: August 6, 2003
Directed by: Mark S. Waters
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis , Lindsay Lohan , Linda Hunt , Harold Gould
PG
Running Time: 95 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $110,222,000
Directed by: Mark S. Waters
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis , Lindsay Lohan , Linda Hunt , Harold Gould
PG
Running Time: 95 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $110,222,000
B-
32 of 132
A relatively funny and enjoyable flick
Freaky Friday?s a movie I probably wouldn?t have seen if it weren?t for the supportive reviews from critics, and when it did score those critiques I was understandably surprised. After personally seeing the flick, I can say the rumor is true ? Freaky Friday is actually pretty good.
Several of the movies this summer that most critics enjoyed left me unimpressed (including The Italian Job, Seabiscuit, and spring?s Bend it Like Beckham), and so I was indeed a little hesitant whether I?d be enjoying this night out at the movies with Freaky Friday. But once the Disney logo disappeared and the opening credits began to roll, I pretty well knew I was in good hands; for me, it was a good start for such an iffy occasion.
Judging from the previews, moviegoers who are not in the female demographics might be turned off by the film?s cutesy devices; seeing the movie, the trailer misrepresents the flick. Freaky Friday is not as painfully cute as it could be, and is actually more intelligent than it has any right to be. It is its universal appeal that makes the Disney release one healthy surprise ? it is a relatively funny and enjoyable flick that?s a surefire crowd pleaser; and even when the expected strings are being pulled, the filmmakers usually pull them wisely.
Jamie Lee Curtis plays Tess Coleman, a busy mother and psychiatrist whose daughter, Annabell (Lindsay Lohan), feels her mother is too strict on her and doesn?t allow the term "fun" to be a virtue. When the two are given identical fortune cookies, their bodies are soon swapped; Tess gets to see what it is like being 16-years old again, while Annabell gets to live the torture of being a mother.
The whole conversion of identity could lead to some pretty clich? roll out of events, but what follows is actually amusing; and in terms of performances, Jamie Lee Curtis had me believing every moment of her adolescence. Lohan, while good, is not as sparkling, but the pair deliver enough goods for 100 minutes to keep entertainment flowing for both genders; this is not a pure chick flick as advertised, which is one of its beauties.
One of the things that surprised me with Freaky Friday was the level of honesty beneath the story. With the two characters? identities being switched, we get some rather expected pokes of being that age, but the script actually takes a bold and risky move by going a little controversial and serious further down the road. Coming from a Disney movie, the plot note is surprising, but the execution is quite believable.
Freaky Friday runs on a well-known path, but like Finding Nemo, it plays its chords like it needs to for the appropriate effect to be in gear. Nemo (B+) was also manipulative, but it had me with every scene; and though the Pixar flick didn?t get too many complaints from me, branding it as an excellent film was something I couldn?t get myself to do.
Friday isn?t as fun or as funny as Finding Nemo, but it?s one of this summer?s more delightful shocks in the ways of quality. Walking into the film, I was questionable to what I?d think of it, but walked out happy that I went. Freaky Friday is nothing groundbreaking, nor is it extremely entertaining, but for the genre it?s nice to have a film that isn?t as wimpy as it could have easily been.
Several of the movies this summer that most critics enjoyed left me unimpressed (including The Italian Job, Seabiscuit, and spring?s Bend it Like Beckham), and so I was indeed a little hesitant whether I?d be enjoying this night out at the movies with Freaky Friday. But once the Disney logo disappeared and the opening credits began to roll, I pretty well knew I was in good hands; for me, it was a good start for such an iffy occasion.
Judging from the previews, moviegoers who are not in the female demographics might be turned off by the film?s cutesy devices; seeing the movie, the trailer misrepresents the flick. Freaky Friday is not as painfully cute as it could be, and is actually more intelligent than it has any right to be. It is its universal appeal that makes the Disney release one healthy surprise ? it is a relatively funny and enjoyable flick that?s a surefire crowd pleaser; and even when the expected strings are being pulled, the filmmakers usually pull them wisely.
Jamie Lee Curtis plays Tess Coleman, a busy mother and psychiatrist whose daughter, Annabell (Lindsay Lohan), feels her mother is too strict on her and doesn?t allow the term "fun" to be a virtue. When the two are given identical fortune cookies, their bodies are soon swapped; Tess gets to see what it is like being 16-years old again, while Annabell gets to live the torture of being a mother.
The whole conversion of identity could lead to some pretty clich? roll out of events, but what follows is actually amusing; and in terms of performances, Jamie Lee Curtis had me believing every moment of her adolescence. Lohan, while good, is not as sparkling, but the pair deliver enough goods for 100 minutes to keep entertainment flowing for both genders; this is not a pure chick flick as advertised, which is one of its beauties.
One of the things that surprised me with Freaky Friday was the level of honesty beneath the story. With the two characters? identities being switched, we get some rather expected pokes of being that age, but the script actually takes a bold and risky move by going a little controversial and serious further down the road. Coming from a Disney movie, the plot note is surprising, but the execution is quite believable.
Freaky Friday runs on a well-known path, but like Finding Nemo, it plays its chords like it needs to for the appropriate effect to be in gear. Nemo (B+) was also manipulative, but it had me with every scene; and though the Pixar flick didn?t get too many complaints from me, branding it as an excellent film was something I couldn?t get myself to do.
Friday isn?t as fun or as funny as Finding Nemo, but it?s one of this summer?s more delightful shocks in the ways of quality. Walking into the film, I was questionable to what I?d think of it, but walked out happy that I went. Freaky Friday is nothing groundbreaking, nor is it extremely entertaining, but for the genre it?s nice to have a film that isn?t as wimpy as it could have easily been.
Lee's Grade: B-
Ranked #32 of 132 between Lives of Dentists (#31) and Bringing Down... (#33) for 2003 movies.
Ranked #32 of 132 between Lives of Dentists (#31) and Bringing Down... (#33) for 2003 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
