Now, four women have swapped bodies, and yet, it’s more cheeky and fun than confusing.
I rewatched the 2003 “Freaky Friday” the other day. The concept, based on Mary Rodgers’ book, featured Lindsay Lohan as the rebellious teenage rocker Anna and Jamie Lee Curtis as her workaholic mother. They get fortune cookies that literally put them in each other’s shoes.
We also know there were other versions of the body swap genre. The first was “Freaky Friday” in 1976 with Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris. There was also the raunchy comedy “The Change Up” with Ryan Reynolds as a layabout and Jason Bateman as a workaholic. And there was the horror comedy “Freaky” with Vince Vaughn as a serial killer and Kathryn Newton as a teenager.
And now, we have the 22-year-old sequel “Freakier Friday” with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis back in their roles. Things have changed for their characters. Anna is the owner of a music label and has a surfer daughter named Harper (Julia Butters from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”); while Tess has taken up podcasting, although she needs to work on her recording sessions.
Harper has an enemy at high school-the snooty English girl Lily Reyes (Sophia Hammons)-and their rivalry gets them in trouble at school. Even worse for the both of them is that Anna has fallen in love with Lily’s father Eric (Manny Jacinto), and six months later, they’re preparing for their wedding.
Instead of fortune cookies, we get Vanessa Bayer as a fortune teller, who has two sessions with both Anna and Tess and Harper and Lily. I think you know what happens the next morning. Anna and Harper swap bodies, while Tess and Lily swap bodies. So now, four women have swapped bodies, and yet, it’s never confusing. We don’t want to keep saying “Anna in Harper’s Body” or “Harper in Anna’s Body,” or “Tess in Lily’s Body” or “Lily in Tess’ Body.” We all know where it’s going.
In cartoons, it usually would be confusing for the characters, despite the fact that their voice actors would voice the other characters. But in the real world, you don’t need to be baffled. Besides, these four women, like in the original, don’t tell their loved ones they switched bodies. It would have been too cliched that they wouldn’t believe them, because they live in reality. And this sounds like a fantasy, because it is a fantasy.
A lot of the original stars also reprise their roles. They include Mark Harmon as Tess’ husband Ryan, Chad Michael Murray as Anna’s ex-boyfriend Jake, Rosalind Chao as the Chinese restaurant owner Pei-Pei, and yes, even Stephen Tobolowsky as the jerky teacher Mr. Bates. And newcomers include Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (“Turning Red”) as the pop star Ella, whom Anna manages.
The screenplay by Jordan Weiss (“Sweethearts”) gets a little typical with the teenagers in the adult bodies trying to destroy a good relationship, but what teenager wouldn’t be in their shoes? And it does get awkward from time to time, but I guess that’s what makes the genre work at the Disney level. Besides, it doesn’t have to be mean-spirited or routine. it can have funny and sweet side to itself, like the 2003 hit.
This time, “Freakier Friday” was directed by Nisha Gantara, whose last film was “The High Note.” Her latest movie may finally give Lohan the comeback vehicle she deserves. She recently had some hits like her cameo in the “Mean Girls” musical or her lead role in “Our Little Secret,” both of which I didn’t care for. She can still remind us of our youth, and this sequel does that. And Curtis seems to be enjoying playing teenagers in adult bodies, while having the energy and timing she demonstrated in 2003. Either that or she got a nice paycheck.
Do I have reservations with this sequel? In some aspects, yes. But is it worthy of your time? Well, it’s just as funny and sweet as the original. And this is still me in my own body writing this review.