If you thought switching spots with your mother would be difficult work, imagine switching spots with your daughter, mother, and soon-to-be stepdaughter. Then decide which is worse.
More than 20 years after the world witnessed a freaky Friday, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan have reunited as mother-daughter Tess and Anna in what promises to be an even freakier turn of events.
Written by Hailey Passmore
Not worse than the original in the slightest, somehow, Freakier Friday becomes an updated sequel without all the 2020s typicality that could make the older generations cringe. Looking back on the 2000s, Freaky Friday (Waters, 2003), you do feel the 00s vibes in their full power. A viewing today feels slightly different than being a kid watching it with your mom back when it was first released, but there is still something so magical about the whole event. There is always a worry with the sequel that it won’t have the power to create the charm or carry on the individuality its predecessor had, yet with Freakier Friday, it goes above and beyond your expectations – well, at least above the expectations of a 2020s sequel.
It has now been years after Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Anna’s (Lindsay Lohan) “lifelines crossed” – as mentioned by Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer) – and just when they think their lives are normal, the strangest, or stranger thing has yet to occur. When Anne became pregnant with her only daughter, Harper (Julia Butters), leaving her rockstar career behind, she chose the path of a single mother. Tess’s practice still grows strong, while developing her own podcast as well, and her relationship with Ryan (Mark Harmon) has never been better. As a teenager, of course, Harper cannot stay away from trouble, and trouble comes knocking in the form of British teen Lily Reyes (Sophia Hammons). Their two parents meet, and it is an instant connection is formed. As Anna and Eric (Manny Jacinto) head towards the aisle, the girls have something tremendous to say about that. Arguments and all the challenges that come with the merger of two families follow the four, including Grandma Tess, and they soon discover that what happened once may just happen again.
Off the bat, Freakier Friday hits audiences with something slightly different than the original; it gives exposition. There are a simple few minutes that allow for the world to be set up, for Tess and Anna to be re-established with the audience, and for the new man and his daughter to be introduced. You worry sometimes, especially with recent sequels and remakes, that the creatives will want it to become more relevant to this generation’s teens, that the plot gets lost in the props and slang. Thankfully, Freakier Friday, while updating itself into the 2020s – with Harper and Lily being teens themselves, but also even for Anna and Tess – there is such a small push to go over the top, that the level at which it becomes relatable to today’s era is more subtle and believable. While being a family-friendly movie, the post-production choices are made with the audience in mind. This allows for new and hip transitions and even a heavy emphasis on the fact that their “freak” incident occurs on a Friday. From Tess taking her therapy practice to a podcast to Chappell Roan and Suki Waterhouse playing over the top of montages in the film, the Freakier Friday crew clearly knew which elements from today’s generation would work well.
Both writer Jordan Weiss and director Nisha Ganatra have clearly brought this feminine element to the film, allowing for an emotional connection for mothers and daughters in the audience to feel. They have allowed for space to change some creative elements from the original, while staying true to the story and the messages the mother-daughter pair(s) learn along the way, which is found in both films. Yet, moving away from the known mother-daughter relationship focused on in Freaky Friday, they give other relationships between different characters a chance to shine. Ryan remains a central part of Tess and Anna’s relationship, along with brother Harry (Ryan Malgarini), and with his appearance in Freakier Friday, audiences are reminded why he is such a good guy. So much so that the character of Ryan, only duplicated in Eric, shines through in choosing Jacinto for the role. Mother-daughter relationships are explored to an additional level in Freakier Friday as Tess and Anna go head-to-head once more, but Harper joins in as well, bringing three generations together to sort through their problems with one another and find out where their hearts truly belong. Additionally, the Colemans do not only have their problems to deal with, but a new addition to the family when Lily finds her way into the swap. Four bodies, four souls in the wrong place, what could possibly go right?
What went right for sure was bringing all of the original (main) cast members back in the sequel, with no recasts required. And the choice of the actors for the new characters also did not disappoint. Curtis and Lohan have such an accurate mother-daughter banter that remains believable to the audience and, of course, is just what is needed for the older and slightly more mature Tess and Anna. Roles are reversed for them in this freakier adventure as Grandma calls Mom lame during school drop-off, and when Tess also undermines Anna’s parenting choices. Butters and Hammons are excellent as well when the need for them to act as Tess and Anna in their characters’ bodies arises, yet they are not the stars of the new cast. Manny Jacinto shines once again with his empathetic portrayal of Eric, allowing the audience to sympathize with and love him throughout. The two leading ladies, a talented new crew, and all the originals we know and love create a warm and entertaining atmosphere for the audience. Jake (Chad Michael Murray) and Pink Slip – Maddie (Christina Vidal) and Peg (Haley Hudson), what more could you want?
An even freakier turn of events indeed, as one might not have expected Freakier Friday to be as entertaining or as emotional as it was. Yet it was just that. Curtis and Lohan have provided the world with a sequel that is not disappointing or too “up to date” in the slightest. It does just what it needs to do. Provides a clever exhibition, brings an empathetic new cast, and reminds fans of the original what they love about it. It’s the world of a Freaky Friday, and it definitely got freakier.
Freakier Friday is in cinemas now. See it there while you can, or if you wait, watch it on Disney+ if that makes you watch it at all.
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