Freakier Friday Review

Freaky Friday has been remade a couple of times. It’s not one of those movies that I ever expected to get a sequel, especially not one where the original actors reprise their roles. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis decided there was a story worth telling, and we did indeed get a sequel to the 2003 version of Freaky Friday this year. Let’s find out if this sequel was worth the wait in our Freakier Friday Review!

A Freakier Friday

Freakier Friday is set 20-something years after the original film and picks up with Anna (Lindsay Lohan) as an adult who has transitioned from musician to manager. She’s also a single mother to a teenage daughter named Harper (Julia Butters). Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) plays the role of grandmother and podcaster in this one. She still ends up being a focal point of the entire story for those of you who think she may have taken more of a back seat in this one.

Anna and Harper have a reasonably good relationship with the occasional clash here and there. This all changes when Anna falls for Eric (Manny Jacinto), an English chef. Unbeknownst to her, his daughter, Lily (Sophia Hammons), is Harper’s nemesis. The two decide to get married, making the two girls a family. On the night of Anna’s bachelorette party, all four women meet a fortune teller who delivers an ominous message. This leads to all four of them swapping bodies, with Anna swapping with Harper and Tess swapping with Lily.

Too Much Backstory

This movie drags a bit in the first 20-25 minutes. I was getting really bored with all of the unnecessary story of how Anna and Eric met and how Harper and Lily hate each other. We would have understood the gist of it in about 5 minutes; it didn’t need all the extra detail. It’s even a bit of a chore to get through up until the 40-minute mark after the body-swapping, until the characters split up on their own adventures. I actually fell asleep the first night I tried to watch this, and had to pick it back up in the last two-thirds, where it was much more engaging.

Lohan/Curtis Shine

The film’s swapping dynamic, with four different swaps, can be a bit confusing at times. This is especially evident when all four are on-screen at once. Lohan and Curtis do a fantastic job playing the teens, which definitely helps you remember who is who. Curtis had some of the film’s most memorable moments, including taking a passport photo with a lip plumper (which we later saw in the movie). She nailed Lily’s personality, and in turn, Tess’ character also grew into a more carefree person after her swapping experience.

Lohan had to have a much more subtle touch while playing Harper. Harper doesn’t understand where Anna is coming from, and it leads to a lot of angst. Lohan takes us through Harper’s journey of discovering that many of the things Anna does that annoy her are done because she cares about her. It mimics Anna’s character in Freaky Friday (2003) in many ways, so it’s a nice full-circle moment.

Making The Most of Their Time

As good as Lohan and Curtis are in this movie, I did feel that it came at the expense of Butters and Hammons. The younger girls are stuck in detention for the first part of the movie, so that doesn’t lead to much character development. Once they get some time with the other girls, it all starts to come together, but it still feels like the movie was more about Lohan and Curtis. This is to be expected, but I think Butters and Hammons could have had more to give if they were given some standout opportunities. It just didn’t feel like there were many memorable moments with those two. They did the best with the time they had, though. This can be explained by the fact that Anna and Tess had already figured out their relationship. This was about Lily and Harper, played by Lohan and Curtis, for most of the movie.

Focusing On The Right Stories

Freakier Friday explores the complicated relationships among four women. It focuses specifically on Harper and her relationships with Anna and Lily, and it does that very well. These relationships are given time to grow and go from damaged to repaired without feeling too forced or unrealistic. Harper isn’t just this annoying teenager. She may start as an entitled girl who wants to do her own thing, but she evolves from that over time. Harper really takes the time to evaluate everything as time goes on to realize where each character is coming from. This makes the bigger emotional moments at the end of the movie feel that much more impactful.

Final Thoughts

Freakier Friday is a fun take on the franchise. Adding a couple more characters to the body swap leads to some fun, chaos, and confusion. The first part of the movie is challenging to get through, but the rest shines. Lohan and Curtis provide excellent performances, but Butters and Hammons make the most of what they’re given. While the story is equal parts emotional and comical, I don’t think it quite captures the magic of the original.