Review: Freaky Friday (*** 1/2)

FREAKY FRIDAY
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2


In FREAKY FRIDAY, Lindsay Lohan, playing her second switching part in a
Disney remake, manages to be even cuter than she was in THE PARENT TRAP. It
may be hard to properly ascertain the relative artistic merits of a drama,
but, for comedies, my metric is straightforward: How much did it make me
laugh? By that simple yardstick, FREAKY FRIDAY is a huge success, since I
laughed long, hard, loud and often as did the rest of our enthusiastic
audience.



The setup for the plot has Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) temporally
trading bodies with her fifteen-year-old daughter Anna (Lohan), thanks to an
older Chinese woman who wants them to appreciate each other's trials and
tribulations. Tess is a therapist with a classic type A personality, who is
about to remarry after the death of her husband a few years ago. Her purse
is packed with electronic communication devices, which she use two and three
at a time. She feels the need to actively manage her daughter's life as
intensely as she does her own. "Make good choices!" Tess shouts to Anna on
her way into school before they swap identities.



In contrast to her perfectionist mother, Anna is a detention regular, whose
life is one disaster after another. Her little brother Harry (Ryan
Malgarini) harasses her continually but secretly, making Tess think that
it's all Anna's fault.



Once they switch places, the two actresses are amazing. Each has the speech
patterns and body language of the other down perfectly. And the lines they
are given to say to each other are so priceless that it's hard not to mimic
them out loud in a crowded theater and thus annoy everyone seated near you.
The physical comedy is hilarious as well. One glimpse of his mother -- Anna
in Tess's body -- in a thong makes Harry grimace with a look that his life
will be scarred forever. And the mere thought of having to romantically
kiss one's future stepfather is enough to make Anna, in Tess's body, think
"Yuck!"



What is surprising, in addition to the depth, consistency and freshness of
the comedy, is how insightful and downright touching many of the scenes turn
out to be. Curtis and Lohan have great chemistry together and have much to
offer the audiences in terms of humor and messages. If you have child or a
parent, see it with them. The movie will not only be entertaining; it will
also leave you with lots to ponder afterwards about how hard the other
person's life is.



FREAKY FRIDAY runs 1:40. It is rated PG for "mild thematic elements and
some language" and would be a great choice for all ages.



In his body, not mine, my son Jeffrey, age 14, gave the film *** 1/2. He
loved the casting, the story and the humor. He liked the way that Lohan
sang one of the songs and thought that she and Curtis were terrific. (For
the record, I think his life would be pretty hard, no matter how much grief
I give him about cleaning his room and other stuff. I'm not up to swapping
bodies with him.)



The film opens nationwide in the United States on Wednesday, August 6, 2003.
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC and the Century
theaters.



Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

Email:



************************************************** *********************



Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?

Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.