Freaky Friday

UK Release: 19th December 2003

Watched on DVD: Sunday 20th May 2012

Rating: PG

Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy

Runtime: 1hr 37mins

Tagline: Every teenager's nightmare...turning into her mother.

IMDb Plot Synopsis: The wide generation gap between Tess Coleman and her teenage daughter Anna is more than evident. They simply cannot understand each other's preferences. On a Thursday night they have a big argument in a Chinese restaurant. Both receive a fortune cookie each from the restaurant owner's mother which causes them to switch bodies next day. As they adjust with their new personalities, they begin to understand each other more and eventually it's the mutual self-respect that sorts the things out. 

My Review: Freaky Friday, along with The Princess Diaries, is an absolute childhood classic for me. I cannot tell you how much I adored this film and watched it countless times in a row. 

I think the main thing that attracted me so much to the film wasn’t just the heart-warming family fun or funny plot-lines; it was simply the music. The soundtrack to this film is fantastic and summed up my music tastes at the time. I remember even fast-forwarding the VHS (yes it was that long ago!) just to watch all the songs!

And while this may be a ‘family’ film that doesn’t mean the acting isn’t great, especially considering the roles are rather more challenging than conventional characters as Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan both have to play original mother and daughter and then each other! They manage to nail each others characters perfectly though, making for some excellent comedic moments. When it comes down to it, it really is the comedy that makes the film so easy and fun to watch. 

I also remember really relating to the Lohan’s character for some reason (!) and that sense of familiarity and warmth definitely still remains today. It’s a shame that Lohan’s reputation now isn’t all that great as her performance here is actually right on the mark and interesting to see in retrospect.

I’m really glad I decided to purchase the DVD, as it is definitely a childhood memory that I loved to revisit!

Score: 7.5/10