On Easter Monday, whilst very bored, I sat flicking through the television channels for something decent to watch. As is always the case in England on a bank holiday, there was absolutely nothing, even on the hundred and something channels we receive through Sky. I did see that BBC were showing the movie Freaky Friday, but to be honest it didn't appeal to me. However, there was nothing on so I left it on and sat there expecting a dire 90 minutes. But do you know what? I was left quite pleasantly surprised!
Freaky Friday is actually a remake of a the 1976 version of the movie which starred a very young Jodie Foster and someone called Barbara Harris. The modern version stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, to Hollywood names familiar to most people these days I would imagine. Freaky Friday tells us the story of a mother and daughter who are constantly at each others throats until a fateful visit to a local Chinese restaurant. A fortune cookie changes the women's lives forever when they wake up inside each others bodies. Both Anna (Lohan) and Tess (Curtis) hate their circumstances but the fortune can only be reversed if they both act in a truly selfless way...
The characters of Anna and Tess are quite typical of mother and teenage daughters these days.
Neither can agree on anything, be it music, dress sense or of course boyfriends. In this film Tess is getting remarried and Anna isn't too keen on Ryan, her mums fiance. In fact, she wants to attend a music competition on the day of her mum's wedding rehearsal dinner but to Tess, this is a no-no. It's actually this argument which starts off the 'freaky' part of the film! Tess is a clever doctor, who is well respected in her profession but despairs of her daughter sometimes. Anna is quite a punk, playing guitar in a band and not doing overly well at school. So how will they survive in each others worlds?!
Jamie Lee Curtis for me is the true star of this film. The start of the film sees her portraying the role of mum very well, she is believable as Tess, and has a good screen relationship with Lohan. However, she comes into her own when she wakes up as her daughter Anna. She carries off the teen language, swaggers and general attitude incredibly well, you truly believe that the mind of a 15 year old is stuck inside this 40-something year old woman's body! I was laughing out loud at Curtis' performance during this film, she really carries the film and is fantastic.
Lindsay Lohan on the other hand....well, sadly is not so good. To be fair to Lindsay, this is only her second attempt at a lead role in a Hollywood movie, so I don't feel I can slate her too much. However, compared to Jamie's performance, Lindsay just doesn't stand up as a decent and believable actress for me. She played her role of Anna quite well, which you can expect as she was playing someone of her own age. However, I felt she really struggled when she was playing Tess in Anna's body. Her language was stilted, many of her facial expressions seemed over-exaggerated and she was in fact quite unbelievable, which is a shame as Jamie Lee Curtis was more than believable. I did cringe a bit watching some scenes with Lindsay, but she wasn't unwatchable thank goodness, just a little stilted and somewhat uncomfortable in her role.
There weren't really any other main characters in the film, just a few supporting ones. There was Tess' other son Harry, played well by young actor Ryan Malgarini, Tess' fiance Ryan (Mark Harmon), and a couple of Anna's schoolfriends and band members (Christina Vidal and Haley Hudson). None of these cast members put in an overly memorable performance, but worked well in the movie and played well off of Lindsay and Jamie when they shared scenes.
Obviously, this isn't a movie which you expect to be believable because it just couldn't happen in real life, much like most movies actually. However, I found it a thoroughly enjoyable watch, albeit not the most taxing this I've ever seen. The premise of the film is that it is going to be a comedy, watching this mother and daughter duo swapping lives for a day. But in fact, there are some deeper and more important themes weaved throughout. One aspect of the film is exploring the relationship between mother and daughter, and how thy come to terms with accepting each other and their different lifestyles. But I think the main thing that came through for me was the gaining of mutual love and respect through understanding each other and trusting each other in what they were doing. Some final scenes in the film were quite touching and emotional.
It isn't the best film you are ever going to see, but I wouldn't say its the worst either. Jamie Lee Curtis makes this film fantastic, and if you want a laugh, she makes the film worth watching in my opinion! The story is silly, but what can you really expect from a Disney film? Lohan takes on a song at the end, nothing wonderful but again a good effort by the young actress. A fun way to spend 90 minutes if there's nothing better on!
Freaky Friday was remade in 2003, and you can buy the DVD on Play.com for £5.99, although I've seen it cheaper than that when there are sales in the shops! Directed by Mark Waters, Written by Mary Rodgers and Heather Hach. It has a running time of 97 minutes (1hr 37 mins) and has a certificate of PG in the UK. The soundtrack is also available to buy from Play.com for £7.99.
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis ... Tess Coleman Lindsay Lohan ... Anna Coleman Mark Harmon ... Ryan Harold Gould ... Grandpa Chad Michael Murray ... Jake Ryan Malgarini ... Harry Coleman
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damncoldnightdotnet 16.05.2006 (16.05.2006)
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