the fresh films reviews

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Freaky Friday (2003)

Director:
Mark Waters
COUNTRY
USA
GENRE
Comedy/Drama/
Fantasy/Family
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Freaky Friday
RUNNING TIME
97 minutes
Producer:
-
Screenwriter (based on a novel by Mary Rodgers):
Heather Hach


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Tess Coleman Jamie Lee Curtis
Anna Coleman Lindsay Lohan
Ryan Mark Harmon
Grandpa Harold Gould
Jake Chad Michael Murray
Mr. Bates Stephen Tobolowsky ½
Maddie Christine Vidal
Harry Coleman Ryan Malgarini
Peg Haley Hudson

 

Review

Remake number two of the original Jodie Foster/Barbara Harris vehicle profits from fine casting and enjoyable execution as career 40-something mother (Curtis) swaps bodies (or brains, depending on your point of view) with her semi-outsider teenage daughter (Lohan). Even if the premise is all too familiar for film buffs (there were numerous equally premised films during the late 1980s, notably Like Father, Like Son, Vice Versa and Big), Freaky Friday works surprisingly well because it takes both generations seriously and discusses real, everyday struggles for both mother and daughter in a non-hysterical way. Of course, the film is still not free of stereotypes and banal explanations (it is, after all, a Hollywood teen movie), but there is a sense of authenticity to the characters embodied by Lohan and Curtis. And the sturdy Mark Harmon somehow gets himself safely through what must be a contender for the most thankless role of the decade. The result is fine entertainment with something interesting for both generations. Neither will probably learn anything along the way, but given that you are willing to ignore a couple of stupidities, this is good fun from start to finish.

Copyright © 21.7.2008 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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