The movie is a remake of the 1977 film starring
Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster, and also connects with the mid-1980s remake,
when three or four switches happened almost simultaneously. Curtis plays Tess
Coleman, a widowed psychiatrist who is going to remarry, and Lohan is Anna, her
15-year-old daughter, who might be the most clean-cut band guitarist in
history. There is a kid brother named Harry, played by Ryan Malgarini, who,
like all little brothers, thinks his older sister is bullying him.
Anna believes Tess is remarrying without hesitation. Ebert
said, “She's going through what in a Disney movie passes for a rebellious
phase, and in real life would be exemplary teenage behavior.” Mother and daughter
join the future husband, Ryan, played by Mark Harmon, for dinner in a Chinese restaurant,
where they get into an argument. The restaurant family’s grandmother, played by
Lucille Soong, gives them fortune cookies, and the next morning when they wake
up, Tess and Anna are in each other’s bodies. (Ebert said, “There was an
article not long ago about how angels and God always seem to be played by
African Americans in the movies. Another could be written on the usefulness of
movie Asian Americans, who can always be counted on to supply magic potions,
exotic elixirs, ancient charms and handy supernatural plot points.”) Anna looks
in the mirror and is shocked to see her mother’s body: “I look like the crypt
keeper!” Tess oversleeps just like her daughter always does. They go through
the necessary scene of scared disbelief, however, like all body-switch movie
characters, they are not only stuck on amazement and terror, but quickly decide
to lead each other’s lives for a while, so the movie can keep going.
The movie, directed by Mark S. Waters and written by
Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon, gives scenes we can expect, but with more charm
and fun than we think. For example, there is the part of Anna flirting with a
slightly older boy named Jake, played by Chad Murray. He rides a motorcycle, so
obviously Tess doesn’t like him, but now Tess, in Anna’s body, is suddenly cold
to the kid, while Anna, in Tess’ body, is so happy to see him that before long
she’s on the back of the motorcycle and Jake is tell her he feels like they
really understand each other and maybe the age gap can be overlooked.
Other entertaining scenes: The mother finds out her
daughter pierced her navel. The daughter buys her mother’s body new clothes, new
haircut, and gets her ears pierced. Tess attends a class Anna has been having
trouble with, and realizes the teacher has been bullying her daughter because she
(the mother) denied being his prom date. Everything comes down to a difficulty
between a rehearsal dinner and the garage band’s big chance at the House of
Blues, and when Anna, in Tess’ body, makes her little speech at the dinner, we
hear the daughter’s dislikes: “Its great we’re getting married – even though my
husband died. How quickly I’ve been able to get over it!” Ebert admitted, “The
outlines of body switch movies almost write themselves, although I'd like to
see what would happen with an R-rated version.” The smart writing her helps,
but the actors help even more, with Lohan and Curtis taking huge physical
chances. Curtis, channeling the daughter inside her, has a hilarious scene on a
talk show. Ebert noted, “she's supposed to be a serious psychiatrist discussing
her new book, but sits cross-legged in her chair and leads the audience in
routines that seem vaguely inspired by summer camp.”
Ebert continued, “Lindsay Lohan, who starred in the
recycled "Parent Trap"(1998), has that Jodie Foster sort of
seriousness and intent focus beneath her teenage persona, and Jamie Lee Curtis
has always had an undercurrent of playfulness.” They’re right for these roles
not only because of talent, but also because of their necessary abilities. We’re
always sure who is in each body, even if sometimes they look like they forget. Ebert
ended his review by saying, “Now if only their Chinese enabler doesn't run out
of fortune cookies.”
I remember seeing commercials for this when it was
being released in theaters, but I never watched it until earlier this year. I
will admit, when I saw the “Parent Trap” remake, I only saw the second half of
the movie, and I think I remember liking it then, but now, I don’t think I like
it. However, this remake I think was better than the original. The body
switching here made more sense than in the original Jodie Foster version, but
if I end up seeing the other remake, I will have to search really hard for
that. Still, if you’re a fan of these two lead actresses, see this remake if
you haven’t. You will definitely find, surprisingly, a lot of enjoyment and
growth in here.
Look out tomorrow when I review another enjoyable
movie in “Disney Month 2021.”
No comments:
Post a Comment