FREAKIER FRIDAY rides high on its zany premise

Freakier Friday (English) Review {2.0/5} & Review Rating

Director: Nisha Ganatra

Freakier Friday Movie Review Synopsis:
FREAKIER FRIDAY is the story of four women facing an extraordinary weekend. Nearly two decades after the events of the first part [FREAKY FRIDAY; 2003], Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) is now a single mother of Harper (Julia Butters). Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis), Anna’s mother, dotes on her daughter and granddaughter. Harper gets into a fight with her classmate Lily (Sophia Hammons). The school summons Anna and Lily’s father, Eric (Manny Jacinto). Sparks fly between Anna and Eric and they fall in love. They decide to get married, much to the dismay of Harper and Lily as they can’t stand each other. At their pre-wedding celebration, they bump into a psychic, Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer). The next day, they realize that they have switched bodies. Anna has turned into Harper while Harper has turned into Anna. Meanwhile, Tess and Lily have turned into one another. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Freakier Friday Movie Story Review:
Elyse Hollander and Jordan Weiss’ story is maddening. Jordan Weiss’s screenplay is a bit messy but is peppered with enough funny and touching moments. The dialogues are on point and enhance the craze quotient. The one-liners about the generational gap, especially those related to Facebook, are expected to receive a great response in cinemas.

Nisha Ganatra’s direction is breezy. She positions the film in the same zone as its predecessor. In fact, the makers allow the audience to draw parallels with life’s coming full-circle moments, like Anna being subjected to the same treatment from her daughter that she had meted out to Tess. The fact that the body swapping yet again occurs before the marriage of a character also brings out the nostalgia. This time, the madness is much higher as not just two but four bodies have been interchanged. Last time, the mission was to switch back ASAP, but this time there are ulterior motives which keep the interest going.

On the flipside, it takes a while to get a hang of who has switched into who. A few scenes like that of school detention don’t work. The manner in which Anna and Tess run away from the school without any consequence is unconvincing. Ella’s (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) track is also not fully digestible. Moreover, FREAKY FRIDAY was a bit in the nail-biting zone; in some scenes, tension levels went up. Nothing of that sort happens here. The makers could have added some tension in the pickleball scene but alas, it is quick and hardly funny. Lastly, the buzz is very limited in India.

Freakier Friday Movie Review Performances:
Both Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis once again impress as Anna and Tess. This time, the dynamic is different as life of two decades have happened to them and also, they are not themselves due to the body swap. As expected, both light up the screen with their performances. However, there was a lot of potential for Jamie Lee Curtis’ character to get very funny, especially when she turns into Lily, but the humour quotient in this regard is limited. Julia Butters and Sophia Hammons have important parts and perform ably. Manny Jacinto looks dashing and delivers a lovely performance, especially in the climax. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is fair. Vanessa Bayer and Chad Michael Murray (Jake) are entertaining in small roles. Mark Harmon (Ryan) doesn’t get much scope. Stephen Tobolowsky (Elton Bates) is okay.

Freakier Friday movie music and other technical aspects:
Amie Doherty’s music is in sync with the film’s mood. The new version of ‘Take Me Away’ is foot-tapping.

Matthew Clark’s cinematography is neat. Kay Lee’s production design is classy. Natalie O’Brien’s costumes are glamorous and also wild. Eleanor Infante’s editing is slick.

Freakier Friday Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, FREAKIER FRIDAY rides high on its zany premise, nostalgic callbacks and strong performances. However, at the box office, it’ll face a tough time due to limited popularity of the franchise in India and competition from other releases.