A movie that could easily have gone over the edge in sentimentality, obviousness or obnoxiousness didn’t. As a result, the audience with which we saw Freaky Friday applauded when the final credits ran. I didn’t go that far but I did laugh through most of the movie, except for some touching scenes towards the end when I cried. Seriously, this Disney-made flick is just terrific and worth seeing even at the outrageous prices charged here in Silicon Valley.
This remake is the exception, I suppose that proves the rule. You know, the rule which says that remakes are crap. Seriously, how many good remakes can you point to? Warren Beatty’s Heaven Can Wait was great but Chris Rock’s re-remake (Down to Earth) was just sad. As great an actor as Robert Deniro is, was his Cape Fear better than Gregory Peck’s? Unlike theatrical productions, movies are best left in their original state. Still, try an idea often enough and there are bound to be some successes, as is the case here.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan play the mother and daughter who are the focus of the film (Barbara Harris and a very young Jodie Foster in the original). Curtis has no need to prove her acting skills, anyone who saw her in Trading Places and True Lies will agree, but Lohan was a surprise (some fans might take issue with me for saying that!), a very nice surprise, who makes a terrific mark in her first feature starring role. You will recall that mother and daughter switch bodies, meaning, of course, that Lohan spends a considerable portion of her screen time playing the mother trapped in a 15 year old body. I’m not surprised to read that Disney already has her in production on a movie for next year (Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen).
Harold Gould makes a rare appearance, providing quality as my footie friends would say, as the nutty grandfather, Mark Harmon has a quiet time as Curtis’s fiance, Rosalind Chao looks ageless as the Chinese restauranteur whose mother causes the switch, and Chad Michael Murray is sensitive and hunky as the guy Lohan must have.
The soundtrack is pretty good too. Lohan’s character plays in a band, which is featured on a couple of tracks, but really good are The Donna’s Backstage, Joey Ramone’s cover of What a Wonderful World and a hard rocking take on Britney Spear’s …Baby One More Time by Bowling For Soup; they could have left off the hurried, emotionless remake of Happy Together from Simple Plan.
Definitely recommended
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