Freaky Friday (also known as Fortune Cookie in Japan) is a 2003 film based on the novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers. It stars Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman and Jamie Lee Curtis as her mother. In the film their bodies are switched due to an enchanted Chinese fortune cookie. It also stars actors Mark Harmon and Chad Michael Murray.
This is the third time this film has been made by Disney, and the second in ten years. The original was made in 1976, and a 1995 television remake was produced for ABC.
Plot
Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) is a common teenager who constantly rebels against her stodgy mother Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and annoying younger brother Harry (Ryan Malgarini). Sources of irritation include a rock band Anna's in, which her mother dislikes, and Tess's upcoming wedding to a man named Ryan (Mark Harmon), which Anna is emotionally not ready for because her father died three years ago. Also contributing to Anna's irritation is her enemy, Stacey Hinkhouse (Julie Gonzalo), the "insane psycho freak" who never seems to stop torturing her, and Anna's English teacher, Mr. Bates, who gives her an F on every assignment, no matter how hard she tries. Her love interest is Jake (Chad Michael Murray). When the family, along with Ryan and Anna's grandfather (Harold Gould), eat out in a Chinese restaurant, Anna and Tess quickly start into a fight again: Anna wishes to participate with the rest of her band in a band audition, however the show is the same night as Tess's wedding rehearsal. Hearing the argument, an elderly Chinese woman offers Anna and Tess both fortune cookies. Upon opening them, there is a short earthquake which only the pair feel. The next day, Tess wakes up and discovers that she is in Anna's body. Likewise, Anna is in her mother's body. Confused, they decide to go back to the restaurant at lunch to find out what happened. Since Anna has an important test and Tess must go to work (as a psychologist, some of the patients are dependent on her), the two are forced into each others roles. At school, Tess is given a bad grade from Mr. Bates even though she got an answer correct, and realizes that he is a former classmate of hers whom she had turned down when he had asked her to the School Prom and he is taking it out on Anna. Tess confronts Mr. Bates over this in front of all of Anna's friends and classmates, humiliating him.
At work, Anna counsels the patients with some difficulty and then gives her mother's body a makeover, including new clothes, a new haircut, and an ear piercing. At lunch, the two go to the restaurant and talk to Pei-Pei, the daughter of the woman that gave them the fortune cookies. Furious at her mother's meddling but unable to directly help them, Pei-Pei advises them to read the fortunes in the cookies, as when the fortunes come true, they will swap back. The fortunes tell that "when what you gain is what you lack, then selfless love will change you back", leaving them just as confused.
In the afternoon, Anna attends Harry's parent-teacher conference, where she reads a paper he wrote about how much he admires her, but provoked fights so that she'd pay attention to him. When Tess takes Anna's test, Stacey writes a note and places it on her desk for Tess to read, but then makes it look like Tess is cheating, landing her in detention. Tess is able to finish the test later with the help of Jake, an older student that Anna had a crush on and she also gets revenge on Stacey by erasing all of the answers on her test paper and writing "I AM STUPID" on it.
Meanwhile, Ryan surprises "Tess" with an interview on a talk show to discuss her new psychology book. Anna is unable to discuss the meaning of the book, which she hasn't read, so she improvises by turning the show into a wild romp. Afterwards, Anna sees Jake at a coffee shop and bonds with him over similar musical interests. Jake then begins to fall for "Tess", when he notices all the characteristics he likes about Anna.
At the wedding rehearsal that evening, Anna's bandmates come to try to convince "Anna" to go to the audition. Ryan gives her permission and tells "Tess" that he wanted Anna to accept him into the family on her own. Seeing Ryan in a new light, Anna leaves to watch her band perform. At the audition, Tess is unable to play the guitar so Anna unplugs it and plays another guitar backstage. The band does a great job and for the first time, Tess realizes how much Anna has playing in her band.
Back at the wedding rehearsal, Tess asks Anna to have Ryan postpone the wedding, so that Anna won't have to go through marrying him in her mother's body. Instead, Anna proposes a toast where she finally accepts Ryan by realizing how happy he makes Tess. There is a second earthquake that everyone feels and Anna and Tess switch back into their own bodies.
At the wedding the next day, Anna's band performs and Anna gets a chance to dance with and kiss Jake. Pei-Pei's mother notices Harry and his grandfather fighting and offers them fortune cookies...which Pei-Pei manages, via tackle, to retrieve before they are opened.
Production
The film's producer Andrew Gunn said he initially hoped Jodie Foster (who played the daughter Annabel in the original 1976 Freaky Friday film) would be interested to play the mother in the remake. Foster declined in order to spend more time with her family and because of concerns that the casting stunt would overshadow the movie's overall merit. Annette Bening was then cast in the role, but dropped out because of family obligations. Jamie Lee Curtis was given the role only four days before filming began.
Lindsay Lohan's character was originally written as a Goth, but she did not think anyone would relate to that, and decided to dress in a preppy style for her audition, and the character ended up being re-written.[1]
Marc McClure, who played Boris Harris, Annabel's love interest in the original film, has a brief cameo as Boris the delivery man. Director Mark Waters also makes a cameo holding a baby at the wedding. Also, in the end scene when Anna is dancing with Jake, there is a woman in the background dancing with an older gentleman, and she looks directly at the camera. This woman is Lindsay Lohan's mother, Dina Lohan.
The snapshots in the opening credits are photos of Jamie Lee Curtis and her daughter, Annie Guest.
Cast
- Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman; Anna is a rebellious, outgoing, punk teenager who likes to play the guitar. She is in conflict with her younger brother, Harry Coleman, about her privacy and her mother, Dr. Tess Coleman, about her school performance and her band.
- Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Tess Coleman; Tess is a widowed mother raising two children and is very busy with her career as a psychologist. She lost her husband three years ago, but she is now about to get married to Ryan.
- Mark Harmon as Ryan
- Harold Gould as Allen Coleman
- Chad Michael Murray as Jake; Jake is an attractive teenager on whom Anna has a crush. He works at a coffeeshop and in detention hall. He rides a Ducati motorcycle and loves grunge music.
- Stephen Tobolowsky as Mr. Elton Bates
- Julie Gonzalo as Stacey Hinkhouse
- Christina Vidal as Maddie
- Ryan Malgarini as Harry Coleman
- Haley Hudson as Peg
- Lucille Soong as Pei-Pei's Mom
- Rosalind Chao as Pei-Pei
- Willie Garson as Evan
- Dina Waters as Dottie Robertson (Dina Spybey)
- Chris Carlberg as Ethan the Drummer
- Danny Rubin as Scott the Bassist
- Zoe Waters as baby in wedding (director Mark Waters' daughter)
Reception
The film was a box office success, garnering a total of $110,222,438. Critics were mostly positive in their reviews of the film. It currently garners a "B" grade on Yahoo! movies, an 88% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film was nominated for a Golden Globe (Best Leading Actress- Musical/Comedy) for Jamie Lee Curtis's performance as Tess.
Soundtrack
References
- ^ Peretz, Evgenia (2006-02-01). (url is only partial article) "Confessions of a Teenage Movie Queen". Vanity Fair. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-12652929_ITM (url is only partial article). Retrieved 2008-09-03. "As the script was written, the character was Goth, Lohan recalls: "No one could relate to the character when she was really Goth. There was nothing there." She took it upon herself to change it - before the audition. "I dressed really preppy," she says. "I wore a collared turquoise Abercrombie & Fitch shirt and khaki pants, swear to God, with a white headband. And my hair was really straight and pretty and red and blond. My agent calls and was like, 'What are you doing?!'" The studio ended up re-writing the character entirely."
External links
