There’s been a recent trend of sequels to movies that came out decades after their predecessors. Maverick, the long awaited sequel to Top Gun, was the start of it and we can all be certain there’ll be dozens of similar instances to come. That is until Hollywood gets back to putting out more original stories that hadn’t been already done a thousand times. Although many of the trailers preceding this movie have given me some much needed reassurance more original stories will be on the way.
https://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2025/08/freakier-friday-trailers.html (I did something different and gave the trailer their own post... not sure if I'll continue to do so but this time it felt like the right call)
Also I am aware horror movies have been navigating similar gaps between sequels as well. I’m not a fan of horror movies so forgive me for not counting those.
https://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2025/08/freakier-friday-trailers.html (I did something different and gave the trailer their own post... not sure if I'll continue to do so but this time it felt like the right call)
Also I am aware horror movies have been navigating similar gaps between sequels as well. I’m not a fan of horror movies so forgive me for not counting those.
Personal Connection
So… I’m officially that age where I can say how excited I am for a sequel to a movie i saw in theaters in high school. The original Jamie Lee Curtis/Lindsay Lohan Freaky Friday came out in the summer of 2003 when I was coming off my first year of high school (in Neshaminy High School, we had grades 10-12 so I’d just finished 10th grade). I enjoyed the Parent Trap remake with Lindsay Lohan so of course I wanted to see this movie too.
It was a blast and I still come back to it on DVD at least once a year.
Also in case anyone is wondering, I did see the original versions of Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. I wasn’t a fan of either one. Especially not the original freaky Friday with Jodie Foster… it was nothing like the Lindsay Lohan version. In fact, we only follow the one character and don’t know the other was switched until the very end when she reveals “oh I was switched the whole time, I just didn’t tell anyone”
As for this sequel, of course I was thrilled when it was announced but that didn’t mean I didn’t have my reservations. I was concerned in some way this movie would take away from its predecessor… or it would ride so much on its coattails that it wouldn’t have its own identity. I had a little more faith this time around because I’m sure the nostalgia would carry me some of the way. Plus, Jamie Lee Curtis, who has enough control of her career and understanding of herself as a veteran actress… the fact she lobbied for this sequel and got it made speaks volumes. I mean, she wouldn’t stand by something like this unless it was good, right?
So… I’m officially that age where I can say how excited I am for a sequel to a movie i saw in theaters in high school. The original Jamie Lee Curtis/Lindsay Lohan Freaky Friday came out in the summer of 2003 when I was coming off my first year of high school (in Neshaminy High School, we had grades 10-12 so I’d just finished 10th grade). I enjoyed the Parent Trap remake with Lindsay Lohan so of course I wanted to see this movie too.
It was a blast and I still come back to it on DVD at least once a year.
Also in case anyone is wondering, I did see the original versions of Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. I wasn’t a fan of either one. Especially not the original freaky Friday with Jodie Foster… it was nothing like the Lindsay Lohan version. In fact, we only follow the one character and don’t know the other was switched until the very end when she reveals “oh I was switched the whole time, I just didn’t tell anyone”
As for this sequel, of course I was thrilled when it was announced but that didn’t mean I didn’t have my reservations. I was concerned in some way this movie would take away from its predecessor… or it would ride so much on its coattails that it wouldn’t have its own identity. I had a little more faith this time around because I’m sure the nostalgia would carry me some of the way. Plus, Jamie Lee Curtis, who has enough control of her career and understanding of herself as a veteran actress… the fact she lobbied for this sequel and got it made speaks volumes. I mean, she wouldn’t stand by something like this unless it was good, right?
Two Different Rating Systems
In terms of rating or reviewing this movie, you could say it has two ways to score. How I’d rate it as a movie and how I’d rate it as a sequel. Especially a sequel to a movie that’s 22 years old.
In terms of rating or reviewing this movie, you could say it has two ways to score. How I’d rate it as a movie and how I’d rate it as a sequel. Especially a sequel to a movie that’s 22 years old.
As a movie… it’s good. I actually really liked the first act before the switch happens and it had a decent conclusion but the middle was a very chaotic jumbled mess. At times, it was difficult for me to keep these characters straight despite knowing who they were from the previous film and it was hard at times to catch my breath. But in the moments it did slow down and the actresses got to breathe and do their thing, it was really good.
I suppose if I was being objective, I’d give it maybe a B to a B- taking points away for the two or three jokes that overstayed their welcome. There wasn’t as much cringey stuff as I expected considering we have different generations and nowadays when generations are in a room together, they harp on that fact way too much. Actually, most of the comments from the gen Z characters were about how adults really don’t get it.
As for rating this movie as a Freaky Friday fan, I’d say my satisfaction rating is at 90%. So I’d give it an A- essentially.
I didn’t read a lot of reviews for Maverick, but I’m sure the criticism that it leaned too much on the nostalgia factor.
For Freakier Friday, I think it might have struck the perfect balance between throwbacks to its predecessor and telling its own story. Well, perfect might be overselling it but I was very happy with it.
The movie brought nearly all of the main characters from the original and their chemistry still holds up really well all these years later. We also added Anna’s new finance and her daughter Harper and his daughter Lilly and they more than held their own against the others.
The only low points in that regard were Tess’s husband Ryan almost blending into the background (I barely noticed Mark Harmon was in this movie but that’s likely due to Jamie Lee Curtis stealing nearly every scene she was in) and the unpleasant return of Elton Bates (Anna's teacher who failed her purposely until Tess sets him straight during her day as Anna). Although it should at least be some consultation that he’d been demoted to detention babysitter and he was equally unpleasant to everyone.
What is it with Stephen Tobolowsky always playing unpleasant teachers with some unearned sense of entitlement? He’s literally the same character in everything I’d seen him in.
We also have a brief cameo from Anna’s brother Harry at a rehearsal dinner. The only character who doesn't make a reappearance is the grandfather (Harold Gould passed away in 2010) and Tess's "regular" patient Evan (Willie Garson passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2021). Evan was such a nervous wreck, it wouldn't have surprised me if his character arc ended tragically, but that might've made the movie too heavy.
What is it with Stephen Tobolowsky always playing unpleasant teachers with some unearned sense of entitlement? He’s literally the same character in everything I’d seen him in.
We also have a brief cameo from Anna’s brother Harry at a rehearsal dinner. The only character who doesn't make a reappearance is the grandfather (Harold Gould passed away in 2010) and Tess's "regular" patient Evan (Willie Garson passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2021). Evan was such a nervous wreck, it wouldn't have surprised me if his character arc ended tragically, but that might've made the movie too heavy.
Family and Casting dynamics
Going off the trailers, I knew there’d be four people switching bodies but I had no idea how it was going to break down, who would be who, etc. I also had no idea who the 4th girl in the freak-out scene was. But in my defense, I did go into this blind and wanting to be surprised and trusting everything would work out. And my faith was rewarded, which doesn’t happen often.
Who Harper’s dad is, that’s never revealed and part of me is kinda disappointed in that. One because it wasn’t Jake and he was only the typical high school boyfriend that just stays in high school. And two- I’m curious about the story. Was it a one night stand or was the guy even less responsible than Anna and she decided to put her music career out to pasture to be there for her?
But I like the updated dynamic between Tess and Anna where they coparent Harper. In fact the dynamic is so good the question lingered… ok, why is this switch happening again? As it turns out, not only is Anna now the one getting married but there’s the addition of another daughter into the family. And Lily happens to be a girl in school Harper doesn’t get along with. Their parents meet in the principal’s office after the duo causes a lab accident in science. And quickly fall in love.
Yeah, I didn’t see that coming but after seeing how cute they were together, I was all for it. The bulk of the conflict comes down to living arrangements. Lily wants to go back to England and Harper wants to stay in LA. Especially since her grandparents live nearby and surfing is her thing.
In addition to her therapy career, Tess does a podcast and plays pickleball with Ryan.
Anna’s old band Pink Slip has since made decent progress since their garage phase. Since becoming a mom, she now works at a music studio and manages upcoming pop star Ella, which proves a bit more of a challenge after Ella’s boyfriend breaks up with her in a very public way. She also still writes songs in her free time but it’s mostly taken a backseat between her job and parenting.
For a more politically correct twist, the switch doesn’t happen through “Asian voodoo” (we do get a quick cameo from that mom-daughter team who now have this big food empire). Instead it’s a psychic played by SNL alum Vanessa Bayer- someone else who plays the same character in every role- but this role definitely gave her plenty of freedom to be as weird as possible.
The switch navigates its way across the generation gap- the coparents switching places with the two girls.
The girls interpret the fortune they receive as a reverse-parent trap situation, where they work towards breaking up their parents’ engagement.
At one point, they track down Jake on Facebook, commenting how it’s how old people find each other. (Omg- I got on Facebook when I started college. Old?!)
He owns a record store and yeah, Chad Michael Murray is still as hot as he was back in the day. What’s funny is seeing him still having a soft spot for Tess despite the age gap and her being married. There’s a bunch of funny jokes here but the top of it is "Lily" looking for something “vintage… like Coldplay”.
Omg, still no respect… and for me, I always flip out when music I listened to when I was a teenager 20 years ago is now concerned “old”. My version of old is the Beatles and Elvis. But I also own 5 Beatles albums so I love me some vintage as well.
Sometime during their scenes, they give Ella a much needed pick-me-up via a cheesy fashion montage.
Meanwhile Anna and Tess, once they spring themselves out of detention… most of their shenanigans are rolling around town on motor scooters and consuming vast amounts of junk food while their metabolisms are still super high. All while “Spice Up Your Life” plays in the background. I think that was probably my favorite part of those sequences, the music.
I own the soundtrack from 2003 movie because it had some great songs but mostly because I had to own all of Lindsay Lohan’s stuff.
And I just have to say how much I loved her being back for this movie and lighting up the big screen. I’ve wanted this comeback for a long time and hopefully there’ll be more… especially if they’re decent quality and not exclusive to Netflix. Cuz I don’t have Netflix…
Having this switch happen four ways has its dodgy and chaotic moments for sure. But it also allows for extra opportunities for characters to bond and get to know each other more. This is done especially well when Anna’s fiancé Eric is part of these heart-to-hearts. I cannot overstate how great these sentimental character interactions are. When everything just slows down and they’re able to be candid with each other.
Part of me also wondered a bit whether everyone would switch back at the same time or there’d be two sequences for when all of the characters resolve their differences.
Going off the trailers, I knew there’d be four people switching bodies but I had no idea how it was going to break down, who would be who, etc. I also had no idea who the 4th girl in the freak-out scene was. But in my defense, I did go into this blind and wanting to be surprised and trusting everything would work out. And my faith was rewarded, which doesn’t happen often.
Who Harper’s dad is, that’s never revealed and part of me is kinda disappointed in that. One because it wasn’t Jake and he was only the typical high school boyfriend that just stays in high school. And two- I’m curious about the story. Was it a one night stand or was the guy even less responsible than Anna and she decided to put her music career out to pasture to be there for her?
But I like the updated dynamic between Tess and Anna where they coparent Harper. In fact the dynamic is so good the question lingered… ok, why is this switch happening again? As it turns out, not only is Anna now the one getting married but there’s the addition of another daughter into the family. And Lily happens to be a girl in school Harper doesn’t get along with. Their parents meet in the principal’s office after the duo causes a lab accident in science. And quickly fall in love.
Yeah, I didn’t see that coming but after seeing how cute they were together, I was all for it. The bulk of the conflict comes down to living arrangements. Lily wants to go back to England and Harper wants to stay in LA. Especially since her grandparents live nearby and surfing is her thing.
In addition to her therapy career, Tess does a podcast and plays pickleball with Ryan.
Anna’s old band Pink Slip has since made decent progress since their garage phase. Since becoming a mom, she now works at a music studio and manages upcoming pop star Ella, which proves a bit more of a challenge after Ella’s boyfriend breaks up with her in a very public way. She also still writes songs in her free time but it’s mostly taken a backseat between her job and parenting.
For a more politically correct twist, the switch doesn’t happen through “Asian voodoo” (we do get a quick cameo from that mom-daughter team who now have this big food empire). Instead it’s a psychic played by SNL alum Vanessa Bayer- someone else who plays the same character in every role- but this role definitely gave her plenty of freedom to be as weird as possible.
The switch navigates its way across the generation gap- the coparents switching places with the two girls.
The girls interpret the fortune they receive as a reverse-parent trap situation, where they work towards breaking up their parents’ engagement.
At one point, they track down Jake on Facebook, commenting how it’s how old people find each other. (Omg- I got on Facebook when I started college. Old?!)
He owns a record store and yeah, Chad Michael Murray is still as hot as he was back in the day. What’s funny is seeing him still having a soft spot for Tess despite the age gap and her being married. There’s a bunch of funny jokes here but the top of it is "Lily" looking for something “vintage… like Coldplay”.
Omg, still no respect… and for me, I always flip out when music I listened to when I was a teenager 20 years ago is now concerned “old”. My version of old is the Beatles and Elvis. But I also own 5 Beatles albums so I love me some vintage as well.
Sometime during their scenes, they give Ella a much needed pick-me-up via a cheesy fashion montage.
Meanwhile Anna and Tess, once they spring themselves out of detention… most of their shenanigans are rolling around town on motor scooters and consuming vast amounts of junk food while their metabolisms are still super high. All while “Spice Up Your Life” plays in the background. I think that was probably my favorite part of those sequences, the music.
I own the soundtrack from 2003 movie because it had some great songs but mostly because I had to own all of Lindsay Lohan’s stuff.
And I just have to say how much I loved her being back for this movie and lighting up the big screen. I’ve wanted this comeback for a long time and hopefully there’ll be more… especially if they’re decent quality and not exclusive to Netflix. Cuz I don’t have Netflix…
Having this switch happen four ways has its dodgy and chaotic moments for sure. But it also allows for extra opportunities for characters to bond and get to know each other more. This is done especially well when Anna’s fiancé Eric is part of these heart-to-hearts. I cannot overstate how great these sentimental character interactions are. When everything just slows down and they’re able to be candid with each other.
Part of me also wondered a bit whether everyone would switch back at the same time or there’d be two sequences for when all of the characters resolve their differences.
It could've gone either way, but this is a 2 hour movie. However, unlike some movies that run too long these days, I felt like the story merited it being longer than the original 90+ minute movie.
Conclusion
The final major scene of the movie takes place at Ella’s concert. I don’t want to give everything away - although some YouTube thumbnail is sure to do that for me- but it wasn’t just the biggest ode this movie made to its predecessor, it gave me the big thing that was missing from that movie.
I swear if there weren’t other people in the theater (maybe 5-6 other people), I would’ve stood up cheering because the movie did this.
Just as a final comment overall, the movie wasn’t perfect nor will it win any awards. At the end of the day, that doesn’t matter. I got a little more out of this than I expected, sometimes a lot more. I just had a lot of fun with this movie and I’m really happy I went out to see it.
You can bet I’ll get it on DVD at my first opportunity. I’ll still go to the 2003 movie more but I’ll probably watch this a bunch as well.
The final major scene of the movie takes place at Ella’s concert. I don’t want to give everything away - although some YouTube thumbnail is sure to do that for me- but it wasn’t just the biggest ode this movie made to its predecessor, it gave me the big thing that was missing from that movie.
I swear if there weren’t other people in the theater (maybe 5-6 other people), I would’ve stood up cheering because the movie did this.
Just as a final comment overall, the movie wasn’t perfect nor will it win any awards. At the end of the day, that doesn’t matter. I got a little more out of this than I expected, sometimes a lot more. I just had a lot of fun with this movie and I’m really happy I went out to see it.
You can bet I’ll get it on DVD at my first opportunity. I’ll still go to the 2003 movie more but I’ll probably watch this a bunch as well.
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