Freaky Friday (2003)

  Plot Summary

Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a busy widow who is trying to juggle her work, look after her two kids and organise her wedding.  Her rebellious teenage daughter, Anna (Lindsay Lohan), isn't too happy about the wedding.  Anna seems to spend all her time arguing with her mother and fighting with her baby brother.  Mother and daughter don't understand each other at all!.

The family go out for a meal in Chinatown and another row starts between Anna and her mother.  An elderly Chinese woman, from the restaurant, hears them arguing and puts a curse on them.  The curse is that they must live each others lives until they appreciate how the other feels.  The only way to do this is to swap bodies...

Review

This comedy is actually a remake and in that sense there is nothing original about it.  There have been a few "body swap" movies over the years, for example Big starring Tom Hanks.  There isn't an awful lot to the story and obviously the comedy comes from the predicament that mother and daughter find themselves in when they discover that there are trapped in each others bodies.  Nonetheless, this movie is good fun and there are plenty of laughs.  Tess and Anna decide that until they find a way to break the curse they must try to continue as normal.  Tess (in Anna's Body) must go to school and Anna (in her mother's body) must go to work.  The results are very funny.

Jamie Lee Curtis plays her part very well.  First she has to play the strict mom and then, after the body swap, she has to take on the demeanour of a sulky, rebellious teenager.  The transformation is very convincing.  Lindsay Lohan (who starred in The Parent Trap) is also very good.  She has to play the rebellious teenager and then take on the mannerism of her mother.  The two work well together and add a lot of charm to the movie.

Lasting thought:  You won't really understand a person unless you can experience their life.

Bottom Line:  Entertaining light-hearted family fun.

Reviewed by Niall Quinn, Premier Movie Reviews 2003

Genre: "Body Switch" Comedy

Certificate: 12's

Director: Mark Waters

~ Main Cast ~

Jamie Lee Curtis

Lindsay Lohan

Harold Gould

Chad Michael Murray

Mark Harmon

RATING

WORTH A WATCH