By: debbie lynn elias
Looks like Disney will strike gold for the fourth time this summer with its release this week of “Freaky Friday”, an updated – and far superior – adaptation of its 1976 hit by the same name which starred Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster. Based on the novel by Mary Rodgers (who also wrote the original Disney screenplay and a subsequent 1995 telemovie), “Friday” is the tale of some cosmically driven mother-daughter body switching. (Thank God this has never happened to me!) A winning idea, we’ve also seen the same concept successfully interpreted by the guys in “Like Father, Like Son” and “Vice Versa”, but these pale in comparison to “Friday” 2003.
Tess Coleman and her 15 year old daughter Anna are your stereotypical mother-daughter pairing, bickering and disagreeing over everything. Anna doesn’t think her mother understands her life, be it school, friends, trends or her aspirations as a musician. Micromanager psychologist Tess is ready to pull her hair out because Anna isn’t head-over-heels doing cartwheels about her mom’s impending marriage to the oh-so-sexy, Ryan. Thanks to some magical fortune cookies, Tess and Anna wake up one Friday stuck in each other’s bodies. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! (I can only imagine my horror should I wake up one morning in my mother’s body.) Suspecting the cause but not knowing the cure, Tess and Anna have no choice but to spend the day living the life of the other. Making the situation even worse (and more comedic) is that this Friday is not just any Friday. No, on this particular day, Anna has a band competition at the House of Blues and Tess has her wedding rehearsal.
Despite it’s very predictable ending, “Friday” takes its comedic duties to heart as Anna and Tess find out what it’s like to walk a mile in the other’s shoes, er, body, while exploring and exposing some generally unspoken truths about the parent-child and sibling relationships. Anna, who consistently receives “F’s” from her English teacher has long insisted there is no reason for the grade and that the teacher just doesn’t like her. Tess, as to be expected, insists the fault must be Anna’s, that is until she sits in the class in Anna’s body and finds out the teacher is grading her an “F”, “just because.” Tess has no clue as to Anna’s relationship with her boyfriend Jake, that is until she is forced to run away from him before becoming too involved in what could then become the basis for the next Maury Povich or Jerry Springer show. Of course, there are perks to having Jake as a boyfriend; like riding a motorcycle. On the other hand, Anna gets to experience the joys of motherhood, being a single mom supporting a family, carpool (okay – adult perk – she gets to drive!), the trials and tribulations of having a successful career as a psychologist and author (Anna as Tess handling a Q&A about Tess’s latest book is an absolute scream), and, in a touching moment, learns that her bratty underfoot brother is only that way because he idolizes her.
Key to the success of “Friday” are Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. First brought to light in the 1998 remake of “the Parent Trap”, Lohan is pure gold in the Disney vault. A veteran of Disney adaptions having successfully tackled the Haley Mills roles in “Trap”, here Lohan gives us another meticulous, exacting performance with mannerisms and styling that make the character of Anna her own. Her masterful interpretation of Tess’s stuffy micromanagement persona – from voice inflection to simple hand gestures – is frighteningly accurate yet funny, especially when “mothering” her friends. Sheer perfection! (Jodie who????) With a natural and nuanced ease, she just gets better with every role. And Jamie Lee Curtis! Talk about a kid in a grown-up’s body! This is her best role in years and she plays it to the hilt. Whether motorcycle riding, playing guitar, making ugly faces or just hanging out, she exudes the same kind of carefree joy, conviction and all out fun that we first noticed in “Trading Places” and “A Fish Called Wanda.” Great at drama, a master at campy horror, Curtis is indisputably at her best with comedy and here, she not only excels in the comedic aspects of the film, but she adds some emotional definition and dimension to the character as well. Supporting performances are equally as strong as our two leads, especially that of Mark Harmon. Although a smaller role as fiancé Ryan, Harman, as solid as ever, adds a touch of class (not to mention some eye candy for the ladies) and calm to the picture. Harold Gould, on the other hand, is a comic delight as Grandpa.
Written by “Mrs. Doubtfire” scribe Leslie Dixon together with Heather Hach, the story is updated nicely, incorporating 21st century pop culture and current mores while maintaining the message of the original story. Unfortunately, with leads like Curtis and Loan, one would have expected and hoped for some real physical comedy as an accompaniment to the story, but same never materializes. Never getting too maudlin or sentimental, thanks to director Mark Waters the story moves at a fun-filled frenetic, yet smooth, pace with only a few minor pitfalls. With a single crane pan shot between the bedrooms of Tess and Anna, Waters subtly shows the body switching and sets the tone for rest of the film and the effectual nuanced performances of Lohan and Curtis. Waters redeems himself for the disastrous “Head Over Heels” as he balances fun with a tone of seriousness while avoiding what could have become nauseating camp.
A winning combination of acting, writing and direction, “Freaky Friday” will have you wondering what freak of nature has occurred to bring us first, a delightfully refreshing remake and adaptation superior to the original and second, another home run for Disney.
Tess Coleman: Jamie Lee Curtis Anna Coleman: Lindsay Lohan Ryan: Mark Harmon Grandpa: Harold Gould Jake: Chad Murray
Walt Disney Pictures release. Directed by Mark S. Waters. Written by Leslie Dixon and Heather Hach based on a novel by Mary Rodgers. Rated PG. (96 min).
