Freakier Friday

This review may contain spoilers!

Freakier Friday is the sequel to Freaky Friday (2003) and once again follows the Coleman family through a body-swapping comedy. Anna is now a single mother to a rebellious teenager who loves her helicopter grandmother, Tess. When Anna meets Eric, a new love, it appears her family is set to grow. But with her conflict with her Mum, and her daughter fighting with Eric's, it will take another body swap curse to teach this dysfunctional family a lesson.

I think this is a film that desperately wanted to be made because those involved in the first wanted to have fun. And it shows, there are a lot of moments where the scene is being played for humour that have the most commitment of any scene in the film. I really enjoyed it when this film finally got on with the body swap curse and all the antics that could be had were explored. I really think this film knew what it was doing and gave itself a little bit more permission to be quite nutty this time around. The entire storyline with Jake and his interest in Tess being brought back up really stole the show.

I also quite enjoyed the soundtrack for this feature. Freakier Friday has some very fresh pop music that keeps the mood peppy and the energy levels high. It was an absolutely electric moment to hear 'Take Me Away' played once more, but this time as a big screen viewing for myself.

Lindsay Lohan, who played Anna Coleman, might be in her best form since she returned to acting; Lohan really dives into the comedy and also shoulders the responsibility of being the central protagonist quite well. Mark Harmon, who played Ryan, really has something quite special with this character; Harmon manages to pull off these deep emotional dialogue deliveries that really strike home. Chad Michael Murray, who played Jake, is a true comedic delight in this; he absolutely runs away with the gag from the first film that he's into older women. 

However, the best performance came from Jamie Lee Curtis, who played Tess Coleman. I have no doubt in my mind that Lee Curtis was the most excited to be back. She really runs at this script headfirst and commits to the intent of every scene. I enjoyed how her character is still quite capable of serving herself without communicating with her daughter, as can be seen with her being a sort of 'helicopter grandmother' throughout the film. But once Lee Curtis gets to be Lily? Then the gloves really come off. This is a comedic performance with no holds barred. Lee Curtis goes for it if the dialogue is funny or if a major physical slapstick moment needs to be played out. You have a sense of delight because Jamie Lee Curtis is clearly having the time of her life.

Freakier Friday is kind of what I expected the original Freaky Friday to be like. I saw the first film only a couple of months ago, and I expected a simplistic comedy with minimal care for the plot and a heap of overacting. I was delighted by the surprisingly resonant story and the incredible performances, particularly the chemistry between Lee Curtis and Lohan. This time around, it feels like there wasn't as much effort to deliver a quality story. The plot is basically the same thing. A blended family situation is on the horizon, and the family is fighting, bodies are swapped, and now that everyone has walked in one another's shoes, the conflict is resolved. It often feels like the story is sluggishly paced and the same narrative beats are being ticked off, rather than delivered with much heart. There's also this weird style to the writing that comes off as an older person trying to keep up with the kids. Moments of slang, jokes about safe spaces and gentle parenting, right down to how social media is used, come across as quite dated and yanked me out of the film quite a bit.

The film has no real sense of style to speak of, which is nothing new for your stock-standard American comedy. The camera is a blockish element that captures exactly what needs to be obviously captured and no further. The editing is also very simple and downright a bit too obvious in places; when scenes were cut to hide Jacinto's poor accent work felt like a real blunder. The score is present but unremarkable, providing nothing to lift the quality of the movie.

Julia Butters, who played Harper Coleman, is far too neutral a figure in this film; Butters just didn't feel confident in her part. Sophia Hammons, who played Lily Reyes, often plays her character as a bit of an over-the-top, snobby role; Hammons really leans into the obvious and doesn't have much depth to her performance. Manny Jacinto, who played Eric Reyes, is entirely charming but struggles with the British accent he has to do; Jacinto's fake British accent is one of the worst on-screen accents I have seen this year. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who played Ella, is apparently playing a pop star in this, but she struggles to capture the viewer's attention; Ramakrishnan all but disappears in her big concert scene, which just makes this role seem superfluous to the requirements. X Mayo, who played Principal Waldman, really doesn't feel much like a principal figure at all; she tends to sell the comedy too hard that I never really found much funny in her performance. Vanessa Bayer, who played Madame Jen, gives quite an uncomfortable performance that borders on melodrama; I feel Bayer was intended as a comedic insert, but that falls pretty flat. Stephen Tobolowsky. who played Mr Elton Bates, is a holdover legacy character that just isn't as fun this time around; the classic old teacher who rants at kids for being on their phones doesn't really feel effective.

Like most legacy comedy sequels, Freakier Friday seems to only exist as a hollow echo of the original film. I would give Freakier Friday a 4.5/10.