Freaky Friday
We’ve spoken about the abundance of body swap movies and magical happenings taking place for people to really understand what the other person is going through. We have had all of the trading places movies we can stomach and while some have hit the mark, others have limped on terribly. They may have enjoyable moments but often delve into a series of one bit stereotypical jokes about age or sex or even race (more on that later.)
The better of these movies is Freaky Friday and I am not talking about the Jodie Foster original; I’m talking about the Lindsey Lohan and Jamie Lee-Curtis (2001) remake.
Freaky Friday is a body swap comedy. Frantic psychiatrist Tess is a couple of days away from remarrying. If this wasn’t stressful enough, her teenaged daughter Anna seems to be causing more mayhem. However, from Anna’s point of view; her mother is completely ignoring her needs despite being bullied by students and teachers alike. After bickering in a restaurant, a magical spell by one of the patrons causes them to swap bodies and live a day (a Friday, if you will) trapped in the other person’s body. Crazy antics ensue as too different personalities try to live different lives; can they finally
understand each other?
Why Is It Bad?
Like most movies of this nature, there is a ridiculously high level of clichés. Obviously the mum cannot cope with high school life and is trying to be nice to everyone and work. And clearly, the daughter will run amok with credit cards and doing up her mother to look more youthful. The schmaltzy end can be guessed (it is Disney, after all,) and there are slapstick hijinks involved. What a middle aged woman crowd surfing? That is the most preposterous thing I’ve seen in my life. Cannot convey the “trapped in my daughter’s body,” effectively, marring the whole venture. Let’s not forget to mention that a movie made in the early noughties features one of the most racist caricatures in film ever; the two owners of the Chinese restaurant. These characters are highly offensive.
Why Is It Good?
Jamie Lee Curtis. Oh she is fantastic as a teenager stuck in an adult’s body. She utterly transforms herself from this previous past of horror movies and has fun. Running around cooing over the completely dreamy Chad Michael Murray (yes, another reason for watch this,) and playing guitar and piercing her earlobes, Curtis just proves that she is much more than a Laurie. She is hilarious. There are some incredible supporting characters from the youngest and the oldest riffing off some brilliant acting. Oh and the soundtrack is pretty epic too.
It is entirely fun, especially if you want to take your load off your mind and you can sit back and watch Curtis straddle Michael Murray or Lohan attempting to be a proper citizen. It is also damn sight better than the original, updating for a generation of troublesome teenagers and prudish parents.
And yes, Freaky Friday will make you realise how hot Jamie Lee Curtis is.