Based on the book by Mary Rodgers, Freaky Friday (2003) is directed by Mark Waters and features a screenplay by Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Ryan Malgarini, Stephen Tobolowsky, Christina Vidal, Haley Hudson, Harold Gould, Rosalind Chao, Lucille Soong, and Willie Garson. The film follows psychiatrist Dr. Tess Coleman (Curtis) and her rebellious teenage daughter, Anna (Lohan). When the two experience a supernatural phenomenon that causes them to switch bodies, both of their lives are turned upside down. Forced to live in one another’s shoes, the mother-daughter duo find themselves in all kinds of over-the-top scenarios as they slowly learn that living the other’s life isn’t as easy as it initially seemed.

As the central mother-daughter pair, Curtis and Lohan have unexpectedly great chemistry, both comedic and dramatic. Curtis gives what is easily the better performance, but this is no surprise considering Lohan’s lack of experience at the time of filming. That being said, she’s still a vivacious and committed performer, but isn’t quite skilled enough to match one of the greats (and why would she be?). It also doesn’t help that her character is the more cartoonishly repellent of the two. She’s intellectually inconsistent, leading to situations in which she suddenly becomes a complete idiot.

As the overbearing mother archetype, Curtis effortlessly toes the line between demanding and loving. However, her performance truly shines once the characters switch bodies. You can tell Curtis is having the time of her life acting as a teenager who’s either irrationally moody, annoyingly lax, or dangerously insensitive. Lohan does a great job as well, but still doesn’t come close to what Curtis achieves. 

The film’s ‘hip’ tone in relation to Lohan’s character feels dated, but also like some sort of weird time capsule. I could do without the fact that the visual style feels akin to something you’d typically see in a made-for-TV Disney movie, but I appreciate its inclusion of era-specific teenage fads. For example, Lohan’s character reminded me that, in the early 2000s, dressing exactly like Avril Lavigne was the universal sign of a female who didn’t like to play by the rules. 

The film is impressive in that it fully leverages its juicy premise, both comedically and emotionally. It highlights nearly every scenario that could result from such a phenomenon, often leading to some big, hard-earned laughs. At the same time, the script also carefully builds the more meaningful, heartfelt implications of being forced to live in someone else’s shoes. These beats are given the proper time to develop, which all come to a head in the wonderfully emotional climax. It’s cheesy, but as far as cheesy movies go, it’s one of the best of its kind. 

Overall, this is a wonderfully nostalgic throwback that effectively leverages its intriguing premise, resulting in a film that works on multiple levels. It’s funny, emotionally-charged, and features two fantastic lead performances. Some of its Disney goofiness hasn’t aged as well as I would’ve hoped, but it’s easy to forgive when considering how well-done nearly every other aspect of the production happens to be. Unless you’re an overly cynical viewer, this should work as a kind of feel-good, live-action Disney classic. Did I mention Mark Harmon also gives a memorable turn as Curtis’s wholly likable love interest? No? Well, I did now. B