'Freakier Friday': An Homage With a Twist (or Two)

Unlike many sequels and remakes, Freakier Friday, in theaters now, pays real homage to its predecessor, 2003's Freaky Friday. This mostly family-friendly film might be another nostalgic crash grab, but here are some reasons why it still works.

If you’re not familiar with the original, let’s get into that first (FYI, there’s a special surprise at the end).

About Freaky Friday and Freakier Friday

In 1972, Mary Rodgers wrote the children’s book, Freaky Friday, with a few sequels of its own, about a daughter switching bodies with her mom.

There are several adaptations, starting with the 1976 version starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris.

But the 2003 version featuring Lindsay Lohan as Anna, and Jamie Lee Curtis as Tess, is the first one to get a direct sequel.

In this new film, Anna and Tess swap bodies with Anna’s daughter, Harper (Julia Butters), and her step-daughter-to-be, Lily (Sophia Hammons).

Now, here’s why the new film is good.

Freakier Friday is fun for multiple generations

Many who grew up with the 2003 movie are now adults with their own kids, and many of the moms who watched it with their kids are now grandmothers.

You'll get plenty of generational jokes, such as older generations not knowing how to use technology and teen girls lacking experience with boys.

Katie Grant with Parents says:

Caregivers will love the nods to the current “new-agey” parent-speak, and how the film pokes fun at everything from helicopter parents to free-range parenting, punishment vs. consequences, and how teenagers will always be the ever-exasperated mini-adults you can’t help but love.

Freakier Friday honors ’90s and 2000s films

Harper and Lily are a lot like Hallie Parker and Annie James from the 1998 The Parent Trap, which also starred Lindsay Lohan.

Rolling Stone points out:

We veer into Parent Trap territory as Harper and Lily, now inside the bodies of Lohan and Curtis, respectively, conspire to break off their parents’ engagement.

There’s something heartwarming and fresh about combining and honoring former child star Lohan’s past work.

Also, Freakier Friday is reminiscent of other movies from that area, such as 2001’s The Princess Diaries (Harper ruins Lily’s shirt in the same way Anne Hathaway does Mandy Moore’s) and 1995’s It Takes Two (there’s a food fight in both).

Freakier Friday is no carbon copy

Some people might be upset at some of the changes (such as, it’s not quite as funny, or there’s too much going on), yet a lot of them are realistic and thoughtful.

For instance, while they keep Rosalind Chao’s and Lucille Soong’s characters that so many loved from the original, the removal of some Asian stereotypes is a good move.

Another shift, a bit of a spoiler ...

... is the introduction of a new love interest (Manny Jacinto as Eric) for Anna rather than just pairing her off with Jake (Chad Michael Murray) from the first movie.

Whatever mixed feelings you have about this, a lot of humor comes from it and it’s more believable.

Spoiler over!

One thing that stays the same is the core message of the old film.

Freakier Friday is about parents and children

The relationship between Anna and Tess is the focus of the previous film. There’s even a little about Anna and her relationship with her eventual stepdad (Mark Harmon).

In Freakier Friday, the stakes are higher, with Lily wanting to move back to her hometown of London, and Harper wanting to stay in in her home state of California.

Even though it hurts, the parents are willing to do anything for their kids, even if that means not getting married at all.

The movie doesn’t hold back on pain or love, says Parents:

Empathy and grief are treated with a keen emotional intelligence in the film. We see how loss affects all parties. And unbeknownst to each other, everyone’s hearts are in the right places as they truly empathize with their loved ones.

The difficulty of raising a teenager is deftly handled as well, and shows how putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is still the best way to understand other perspectives. The film wraps up loose ends from the first version and there is satisfying, if not comical, closure for every relationship we see.

Finally, Freakier Friday is a great sister movie

Harper and Lily might not be blood-related, but they have all the markings of sisters. They fight, they talk heart-to-heart, and they make life fun ... as sisters often do.

That makes the movie special, especially for a lot of the girls who grew up with the 2003 movie. Many of us, including me, enjoyed the old movie with our very own sisters.

This moves the film away from a stereotypical teen movie by choosing to focus even more on family, wrote Variety:

The movie winds up being rather touching. It’s all about how Harper and Lily, in trying to break up their parents’ engagement, discover that they really do want to be sisters.

Lastly, what does Catholic media say?

From CatholicReview.org:

Positive messages about family harmony underlie the ensuing high jinx since important life lessons will have to be learned before things can return to normal. Yet the comedy itself feels slapdash and ultimately garners few laughs.

Still, director Nisha Ganatra’s production mostly steers clear of problematic ingredients. It thus makes appropriate entertainment for a broad swath of viewers.

The film contains mature references, brief scatological humor, a couple of mild oaths and about a half-dozen crass terms. The OSV News classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested.

Now for that special treat ...

Here's Curtis and Lohan interviewing each other:

Image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Maggie Orsinger graduated from John Paul the Great Catholic University in 2020 with a degree in Communications Media. She also holds an 2023 MFA from Pepperdine University for Screenwriting.