I’m not going to lie and act like I hold a great deal of reverence for 2003’s Freaky Friday. However, it’s easy to see why the film (an adaptation of the 1972 novel) was a massive hit and still has a lot of love from fellow millennials who grew up with it. I could probably count on four hands the number of poorly Photoshopped Freaky Friday 2 posters I’ve come across on Facebook over the last 15 years. Colour me surprised that Disney not only decided to cash in on that nostalgia by making a direct sequel in Freakier Friday, but that the movie is actually a really fun time, with or without nostalgia.
Set 22 years after the previous film, we’re reintroduced to Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan), former rock star, now a manager to rising pop star Ella, and a single parent to teenage daughter Harper (Julia Butters). She isn’t alone as she “grand-co-parents” with her mother, Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis), a therapist launching a new podcast and getting ready for an upcoming book tour. At school, the tomboy Harper immediately clashes with the new girl, English fashionista Lily (Sofia Hammons).
Unfortunately for those two, Anna falls head over heels for Lily’s father, Eric (Manny Jacinto). Six months later, the two are already engaged to be married.
Things come to a head during Anna’s bachelorette party. The soon-to-be stepsisters’ hatred for each other, as well as Anna and Tess’s constant disagreements over the latter’s grandparenting, leads to a double body swap: Anna ends up switching bodies with Harper, and Tess with Lily. Freaky Friday wisely sidesteps the poorly aged Orientalism of the last movie, as the switch is now caused by Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer), a fortune teller with more side hustles than common sense. [She’s hilariously labelled in one scene as a “multi-hyphenate lunatic.”]
“Most of the gags in Freaky Friday are the expected jokes about the disconnect between Gen Z and older generations.”
Most of the gags in Freaky Friday are the expected jokes about the disconnect between Gen Z and older generations. However, for every joke about Gen Z slang or Facebook that doesn’t work, there are three that do, like the adults’ renewed sense of invincibility in younger bodies (“Bone density!”) and the kids’ attempt to blend into their new adult surroundings.
The zaniness works thanks to the central quartet. It’s nice to see Lindsay Lohan back on the big screen, and her comedic chemistry with Jamie Lee Curtis is still intact after all these years. Speaking of which, Curtis really gets to let loose as Lily and is the source of the best physical comedy. Although Julia Butters and Sofia Hammons don’t get as much to do as their older counterparts, they still get some great bits, like attempting to discipline their “adult” children.
“It’s nice to see Lindsay Lohan back on the big screen, and her comedic chemistry with Jamie Lee Curtis is still intact after all these years.”
Jordan Weiss’s script weaves in old characters and references in a way that adds to the story without constantly calling attention to itself, particularly the return of Anna’s former love interest, Jake (Chad Michael Murray). Even though some of it feels like a made-for-streaming sitcom in the first act, Nisha Ganatra’s direction is lively enough that the movie doesn’t lose momentum once it gets going.
Of course, the main theme of the film—and most body-swap comedies—is understanding the other person’s perspective. In this case, it’s Harper and Lily coming to understand each other, and the importance of coming together and becoming a family. Freaky Friday manages to bring it all together for a heartwarming conclusion.
From the film’s early yearbook-style montage to the return of the long-forgotten mid-credits blooper reel, Freaky Friday is the definition of comfort food not enjoyed in years. If anything, it’s one of the better examples of how to do a legacy sequel. It charmed me far more than I thought it would.
