Theatres have recently been graced with a nostalgic comedy sequel, titled Freakier Friday. If you couldn’t guess, it is the continuation of the story from Disney’s box office hit, Freaky Friday. An article from Times magazine claimed that ‘no one actually asked Disney for a sequel’ to their 2003 iconically hilarious film. Well, on behalf of a niche portion of 2000s kids, I’d like to stand up and say–we did. Although some of us wonder, with the film being released over two decades after the original, why Disney decided, after all these years, to release a sequel. But, I say, why not? Late is almost always better than never.
Despite the passage of time since the original, one of the best aspects of the film was the inclusion of nearly all the original characters. The main stars of the show remain the mother-daughter duo, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, who, as stated by TheGirlWithNoName, ‘with these two leads, it might just work.’ But did it work? In my opinion, absolutely. They brought their same unique chemistry and their uncanny ability to pretend to be an entirely different person. For me, Jamie Lee Curtis’ acting skills may have shone even more in the sequel, considering the fact that this time, she didn’t have to play her daughter, but rather her daughter’s fiancé’s British daughter. Yes, it was a bit more confusing than just the regular old run-of-the-mill mother-daughter body swap, especially considering that it was a quad-swap involving Anna, an ex-guitarist and single mother; her career-driven mother, Tess; Anna’s daughter, Harper; and Harper’s soon-to-be stepsister, Lily. As long as we don’t think too hard about the magical logistics of it, it’s an interesting twist.
I think that some of the criticism probably comes from a place of preference. Freakier Friday is a comedy, and there are so many different types of comedies that some find funny and others don’t. If you aren’t the type of person who enjoys silly, PG-rated humor, it is likely you won’t be a huge fan of this film–or the first one, for that matter. However, if you are like me and that humor is right up your alley, you’d understand them enough to know that it isn’t meant to be taken fully seriously. Sure, the story includes hidden morals and pretty decent character development, but in the end, most of the film is meant to be comedic. The best example of this can be summed up in one word…or one character, to be exact–Jake.
Jake was the perfect-haired, motorcycle-riding, high school crush of Anna in the original film, and he returned in the sequel as the potential ‘one that got away.’ Nothing unusual about that. Except for the fact that, in the original film, teenage Jake had a crush on Anna’s mother(who was actually Anna in her mother’s body). Ultimately, that film ended with Jake realizing his obsession with Anna’s mom was a tad odd and walking off into the sunset with Anna instead. The sequel, however, successfully squashes the ‘Jakanna’ love story, centering instead on Anna preparing to wed a handsome British fella played by Manny Jacinto. It does, however, keep the door open for Jake and Anna’s mom, with Jake at one point even asking her if her husband is ‘still with us.’ Hence, the proof that this isn’t meant to be a romantic story, or a drama that pulls at our heartstrings, but rather a light-hearted comedy. If the critics thought otherwise, they might have missed the genre tag.
To sum it up, the movie held up to its expectations, and that isn’t a bad thing. For those of us who watched it for that nostalgia feel, the movie delivered, especially by recreating the Pink Slip performance of their song ‘Ultimate’ at the end. However, it also managed to be a decent stand-alone movie, requiring no nostalgia to enjoy and providing a good laugh. The box office seemed to agree with their opening weekend global debut of around $44.5M.
