βFreakier Fridayβ isnβt so much a sequel to βFreaky Fridayβ as it is a career retrospective for Lindsay Lohan.
In the course of pulling off another body-switching story, director Nisha Ganatra manages to reference βMean Girls,β βThe Parent Trapβ and βFreaky Fridayβ without really taxing Lohan.
Jamie Lee Curtis, as her mother, gets the real workout, throwing herself into the drag of a teenager, the plastic surgery of a real housewife and the mindset of a closet-based podcaster. Sheβs the reason to watch this. Lohan is merely an accessory to a series of social crimes.
As in the first film, thereβs mystical body-swapping. Here, though, four females exchange identities (grandma, mom, daughter, soon-to-be-stepdaughter), making it increasingly difficult to remember whoβs inhabiting what body.
Lohan, a single mom, is engaged to marry a British chef (Manny Jacinto, whoβs the filmβs biggest surprise), much to her daughterβs dismay. The daughter (Julia Butters) doesnβt want to move to Great Britain and canβt stand her soon-to-be-stepsister (Sophia Hammons), whoβs one of the schoolβs mean girls. When the two are made lab partners, they figure out how to separate their parents and live life, as they see it, happily ever after. Parent trap, you might say.
Then, a fortune teller/psychic/whatever enters the picture and prompts the swap. Curtis swaps with the British snob; Lohan swaps with her daughter. At frequent times itβs utterly confusing. Thankfully, Curtis throws herself into acting like a teen. She doesnβt approximate Hammons at all, but she does drive this, even more wildly than she steers a Red Camaro.
In the course of separating the happy couple, the swapped females get an old crush (Chad Michael Murray, who still looks as striking as he did 20 years ago) to work his magic. Heβs hot for grandma, which makes the scenes with Curtis even funnier.
Because Ganatra offers plenty of references to the original film, βFreakier Fridayβ doesnβt seem as freaky as it sounds. Old haunts, old careers and old stars (Mark Harmon is here, too) make this as good as a very special Disney Channel film.
Lohan looks a little too sophisticated throughout but manages to find a laugh or two when Murray is around. Paired with Jacinto, she makes you wonder what the two could be like in a more typical rom-com. Heβs an excellent dancer who could easily step into Patrick Swayzeβs shoes if they decide to recycle them, too.
By getting everyone to a rock concert (headlined by a star who should have figured into the plot a little more heavily), the switch back is possible. The switch also gives βFreakier Fridayβ a chance to include a song from the first film.
Neatly packaged, βFreakier Fridayβ should be a big hit with those who warmed to the first film. It doesnβt break new ground, but it does suggest Lohan is back and willing to pick up right where she left off.
