It’s a story as outdated as time — or no less than, a story Hollywood loves to inform many times: Body-swapping. It’s magical. It’s comical. It carries heartwarming messages about strolling in one other’s sneakers, and studying about oneself alongside the way in which.
So it’s hardly shocking that “Freaky Friday,” the 2003 model of the 1972 Mary Rodgers novel starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, was successful. Lohan was endearing and charismatic as an interesting, mildly turbulent teenager, and Curtis was a comic book hoot as her control-freak therapist mother.
And whereas there have been just a few misfires — the stereotypical Asian illustration has aged badly — the movie was powered by a straightforward chemistry between the 2 stars. So why not revisit the story in 2025? Sequels are sometimes made for a lot much less compelling causes.
The chief weak point of “Freakier Friday” — which brings Curtis and Lohan again for an amiable, typically joyful and positively chaotic reunion — is that whereas it hews overly intently to the construction, storyline and even dialogue of the unique, it tries too laborious to up the ante. The comedy is thus a bit extra manic, and the plot machinations extra overwrought (or generally distractingly foolish).
Then there’s the double body-swapping. Because one main swap is not sufficient, right here we now have two units of swappers — a quixotic quartet of lives disrupted through the lead-up to, sure, one other wedding ceremony! The drawback is that generally, it’s truly laborious to maintain observe of who’s inhabiting whom, and subsequently why they’re doing what.
Not to say that “Freakier Friday,” directed with gusto by Nisha Ganatra, would not have moments of comedian glee. I’ll admit to laughing out loud — with everybody else older than 30 close to me — when two teenagers had been making an attempt to find an grownup contact and considered one of them pulled up Facebook, explaining: “It’s like a database of old people!” Touché, guys.
These “youngsters” are literally Lohan and Curtis, taking part in ninth-graders trapped in grownup our bodies. Before we get to that, although: We start 22 years after we final noticed Lohan’s Anna, taking part in electrical guitar at her mother’s wedding ceremony. Now a single mother herself with a job managing a younger pop star, she’s making an attempt to get her daughter up for varsity. Harper (the superb Julia Butters) is — shock! — an interesting, mildly turbulent teenager. And similar to Anna twenty years in the past, she retains folks out of her bed room. “Prepare to be triggered!” Anna yells earlier than barging in. (The dialogue has been duly up to date to the current time.)
Driving to high school drop-off, Anna is joined by her mother, Tess (Curtis), who has trendy grey hair now and remains to be a working towards therapist, podcaster and creator whose newest matter is “Rebelling with Respect.” Dropping Harper off, Anna calls out “Make good choices!” — simply what mother Tess used to say, natch.
At college, Harper butts heads with switch scholar Lily (Sophia Hammons), a budding clothier who hails from Britain and may be very snooty. Anna known as to see the principal. There, she meets Lily’s dishy chef dad Eric (Manny Jacinto), and the 2 flirt so intensely, the principal herself makes them a dinner reservation.
All it takes is one cute relationship montage, and poof, Anna and Eric are engaged. But issues are nonetheless unhealthy between Harper and Lily, whose animosity triggers a weirdly violent, all-school meals struggle on bake sale day. But all of them have a bachelorette get together to attend. There, a wacky fortune-teller and barista and business-card maker — Vanessa Bayer, in a cameo that maybe, no positively goes on too lengthy — reads their palms. And then the earth begins shaking.
“Freaky” followers know what occurs subsequent. The 4 awaken the subsequent morning, every inhabiting another person. Anna is Harper. Tess is Lily. Harper is Anna. Lily is Tess. We’ll be testing you on this later!
Seriously, it is simple to lose the thread. Also, one wonders: why doesn’t Lily’s British accent journey along with her to Tess’s physique? If Curtis out of the blue had a British accent, the pairing would make much more sense.
Anyway, they go about their days. Lily, in Tess’ physique, performs pickleball awkwardly with husband Ryan (Mark Harmon is again, in a thankless half). Harper, in Anna’s physique, goes to a pre-wedding tango lesson with Eric, with disastrous outcomes. Meanwhile Anna and Tess, of their teen our bodies, feast on junk meals with impunity. “I haven’t eaten real dairy since the Bush administration,” one says.
Curtis, aka Lily, will get her finest second in a drugstore, when her hubby asks her to get provides from the “senior” aisle, and he or she stockpiles all the things from grownup diapers to enemas. Lohan’s at her comedian finest when, as Harper, she tries to flirt the way in which she thinks her mom would. She’s flirting with Jake (Chad Michael Murray) — sure, the hunky man from the unique — and her flirting is so bizarre, Jake thinks she’s having a stroke.
It all barrels towards a conclusion that we received’t spoil. Will the marriage be derailed by the efforts of Lily and Harper? Will that derailment be short-term? Will the sisters-to-be attain an understanding? Will Lohan get to play the electrical guitar? Will everybody develop to understand one another?
That final query, we will reply. Of course they’ll. Whoever they’re, and no matter they simply did.
Editor: “Freakier Friday” opens in Japan on Sept 5.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.