Freakier Friday

Prequel: “Freaky Friday” (2003)

*Warning: Spoilers from the first film may appear in this review*

When we last left Anna at the end of “Freaky Friday,” Anna had made amends with her mother, Tess, after having a total body switch which allowed both her and her mother to step in each other’s shoes and understand each other better.

Over a decade has passed. Anna is now a proud single mother of a growing teenage daughter named Harper. The challenges of high school and the challenges she has with her mother has put a lot of stress on Harper, which leads to her going out and surfing or hanging with her friends. Well, not everyone at that school is her friend.

Enter Harper’s science partner Lily. Lily tends to belittle and look down upon those she deems inferior. Harper likes to talk about how she’s traveled to many places around the world and has a French boyfriend and she tends to bully others around her, as she herself lost her mother many years ago.

Some time passes and Anna falls in love with a man who has a daughter (drum roll please) named Lily. Anna informs Harper that she and the man she met, named Eric, who at this point has been dating Anna for 6 months, that she and Eric are getting married, but that does not sit well with Harper or Lily as they don’t want to be step-sisters to each other.

At a party, Anna and her mom, Tess, are whisked away by a medium. The medium tells them that their lifelines have crossed before and that, before night’s end, their lifelines will cross once more. Soon thereafter, a random earthquake begins.

Things just got freakier…

“Freaky Friday” (2003) had something really special. As it came out when I was a teen, I was such a fan of Lindsay Lohan, and it had been a while since I had seen her in anything (the 1998 remake of the “Parent Trap” comes to my mind).

Once again it’s been some time since anyone has really seen her in anything, easily 10-15 years. Lindsay Lohan went through a lot of trouble struggling with a very horrible drug addiction but made it through and has cleaned up her life not only for herself but for her family, including her husband and son. I’m glad to see her back and in her element.

“Freakier Friday” makes for a wonderful return for Ms. Lohan. Having to now play the mom as opposed to her previous teenage self is a bit cliché, to a degree, but it works and she just looks like she’s having a blast doing it. Her mannerisms, her humor she just plays off as if she never took a break. She and Jamie Lee Curtis feed off of each other once again and never missed a step. The young teens Harper and Lily, played by Julia Butters and Sophia Hammons, also put in a relatively strong relationship, though there were times I found Lily to be quite annoying in her very childish behaviors, despite her underlying circumstances.

What I can also appreciate about this sequel is that there are some wonderful cameos and easter eggs for those who really enjoyed the 2003 “Freaky Friday” (e.g. One of the costumes Anna wears toward the end of the film. Be on the lookout!). Specific characters from the previous film, including some that made very brief appearances, really added to the nostalgia factor.

I do, however, have two major qualms with this sequel. First the sexual content. My friend and I both agree that the sexual content of “Freakier Friday” is definitely more prevalent and frequent than the 2003 film. Some situations really push the PG boundary, to the point that, both my friend and I agreed, this film easily could, and should, have been rated PG-13 (e.g. Some of the back and forth flirtatious conversations between Chad Michael Murray and Jamie Lee Curtis).

My second qualm is while there are double the amount of body switches this did tend, to me, to lead to me forgetting who had switched bodies with whom, particularly between Lilly and Dr. Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis’ character). I had to struggle remembering who had switched with whom even up until the end of the film. A minor qualm, in hindsight, but a qualm nonetheless.

Content of Concern

SEXUAL CONTENT/DIALOG: A principal states to Anna and her fiancé Eric that she’s never “met a more physically attractive couple.” Girls are wearing some very short skirts. Some outfits bare cleavage. A LGBTQIA flag is seen. There is some sensual dancing at a party. At a drug store Tess (actually Lilly) grabs stuff off the shelf that includes: urinal jug, adult diapers, and enema boxes. Anna (who’s really Harper) tries to flirt with her old boyfriend Jake to try and break up the wedding. Jake is seen flirting with Tess (there is a significant age difference between the two, especially since Lilly is in Tess’ body). Lilly (as Tess) thinks a young boy is cute and this is overheard by one of Tess’ patients.

Someone loudly exclaims during a rehearsal dinner, “She’s on her period!”. An elderly lady looks at a picture of Jake and says “I’d like to ride in on a motorcycle with him.” Someone talks about a man’s butt being nice and high. Someone is called a sexy tiger. Someone mentions they peed a little a couple of times. A couple shares a kiss. There is some tango/salsa dancing that involves some moments with the pelvis. There is a sultry dance on table (comedic).

VULGAR LANGUAGE: P*ss off (1), P*ssing. Mother F**ker (cut off before the F-bomb is used), Fr*ckin (1), Dipstick (1), A** (1), Bloody (1), Dang (1)

PROFANITY: OMG (2), G*d (1), H*ll (1)

VIOLENCE: A food fight in a courtyard occurs after Lilly and Harper smash cupcakes in each other’s face. People are seen falling off a couch. Two people try to run into each other in order to switch back into their regular bodies. Students throw trash at Harper and Lilly. Some girls trip and fall off their scooters (one person is injured in the process).

WOKEISM: Harper has a sign that says “Please Respect my Safe Space.”

OCCULT: A medium is consulted at a party and people switch bodies on a premonition she has.

ALCOHOL: Some people are seen drinking alcohol at some parties.

OTHER: Chemicals spill and explode in a classroom. Someone is allergic to key lime pie and has a reaction.

Morals

While we do not get to pick the family we want, it’s the family that has been given us. Families are flawed and come in different forms. Some contain one single parent, some contain both, some contain grandparents, some do not. Whatever the case may be, we always need our family.

God’s family is different. When you become a part of God’s family, He takes you just as you are, all your imperfections included. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, he just expects us to love Him and put Him above everything else.

When you become a part of God’s family, you know you are loved and that His protection is over you. When you fall, He picks you up. When you find things impossible, He makes it possible. Being in God’s family is so much greater than any earthly family you may find in your life.

“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” —1 Corinthians 12:13

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” —1 John 3:1-2

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” —1 Peter 2:9-10

Final Thoughts

“Freakier Friday, ” as a whole, is a strong sequel. Is it as good as the 2003 “Freaky Friday,” well, that’s for you to decide. It’s double the headaches on and off the screen. If you’re like me you may find yourself, at times, having a difficult time keeping a track of who’s who and then, as I said, this movie really pushes the boundary of the PG rating and in truth should have been rated PG-13.

I feel this film would be more appropriate for older teens and adults as they would understand most of the references in the film. I hope that pushing the boundaries of the content isn’t a new trend for Disney though. That would cause me to really… freak… out…

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.