Freaky Friday (2003 film)



Freaky Friday is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon, based on Mary Rodgers’ 1972 novel of the same name. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter, whose bodies are switched by a mysterious and magical fortune cookie.

The film was released in theaters on August 6, 2003, by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Pictures. It received positive reviews from film critics and it earned over $160 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. It was Disney's third film adaptation of the novel, after the film Freaky Friday (1976), starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster, and the television film Freaky Friday (1995), starring Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann.

It was released on VHS and DVD on December 16, 2003, by Walt Disney Home Entertainment.

Plot
Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) is an aspiring teenage musician who lives with her widowed therapist mother, Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis), and younger brother, Harry. Tess is about to marry her fiancé Ryan Volvo, whom Anna has not entirely accepted. Anna's band, Pink Slip, is scheduled to audition for a gig at the House of Blues.

Anna's English teacher, Mr. Bates, unfairly gives her "F"s on her assignments and Tess disapproves of Anna's crush on older student Jake. Anna gets detention twice the same day: once for talking back to Mr. Bates when he disrespects her, and again for retaliating against her former best friend-turned-nemesis Stacey during gym class.

The Colemans eat at Pei-Pei's Chinese restaurant, where Tess refuses to let Anna go to her audition on the same Friday as the wedding rehearsal. Pei-Pei's mother interrupts their arguing to give them fortune cookies. The next morning, they wake up in each other's bodies, but cannot return to the restaurant as Anna (now Tess) has school and Tess (now Anna) has patients. At school, Tess learns Anna was right about Stacey and Mr. Bates, understanding her daughter's woes; she eventually recognizes Mr. Bates as her high school classmate whose prom invitation she turned down, who is taking out his anger on Anna in revenge. Tess confronts Mr. Bates, threatening to report him to the school board unless he ceases his unfair treatment of her daughter.

Before going to Tess' office, Anna gives Tess' body a makeover, much to her mother's dismay. At the office, Anna has some difficulty handling her patients, apart from a mother with concerns about her daughter. At lunchtime, Anna and Tess return to the restaurant and confront Pei-Pei and her mother, who explains that only by showing selfless love for each other will the switch be reversed.

Anna attends Harry's parent-teacher conference, where she reads a composition about how much he actually admires her. Tess attempts to make amends with Stacey, but Stacey frames her for cheating. Jake helps her finish the test, and she realizes she has misjudged him, but he loses his enamoration towards "Anna" after Tess sabotages Stacey's test.

Ryan surprises Anna with a talk show interview to discuss Tess' new psychology book. Tess and Jake watch the interview on television and while she is embarrassed, he is impressed. Anna bumps into him at a coffee shop, and they bond over their favorite music.

At the rehearsal dinner, Anna's bandmates try to convince "Anna" to sneak off to the audition, but they are caught by security. Ryan surprises Tess and Anna by giving "Anna" permission to go, explaining that he just wants the kids to accept him, and urges "Tess" to go support the band, finally winning her over. Since Tess cannot play, Anna unplugs her guitar and covers Tess' ripping guitar solo while Tess plays air guitar. Realizing the fun of music, Tess promises to treat Anna's band with more respect, and during the show, Jake becomes enamored by "Anna" again upon seeing her perform. Back at the rehearsal dinner, Tess tells Anna to ask Ryan to postpone the wedding, so Anna will not have to marry him in Tess' body.

Instead, Anna proposes a toast, finally accepting Ryan because of how happy he makes Tess. This act of selfless love switches back her and Tess' bodies. Tess and Ryan later marry, she and Anna finally make up, Anna and Jake start dating with Tess' approval, and Anna's band plays at the reception. The film ends after Pei-Pei's mother attempts to give Harry and Grandpa Alan the body-switching fortune cookies when they argue, but her daughter confiscates them in the nick of time by tackling them to the ground.

Cast

 * Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Tess Coleman, Anna's mother
 * Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman, Tess’ daughter
 * Ryan Malgarini as Harry Coleman, Tess’ son and Anna's brother
 * Harold Gould as Grandpa Alan Coleman, Tess’ father
 * Chad Michael Murray as Jake, Anna’s love interest
 * Mark Harmon as Ryan Volvo, Tess’ love interest later 2nd husband
 * Stephen Tobolowsky as Mr. Elton Bates, Anna’s teacher who constantly fails her.
 * Christina Vidal as Maddie
 * Haley Hudson as Peg
 * Rosalind Chao as Pei-Pei
 * Lucille Soong as Pei-Pei's mother
 * Willie Garson as Evan
 * Dina Waters as Dottie Robertson
 * Julie Gonzalo as Stacey Hinkhouse
 * Cayden Boyd as Harry's friend
 * Christopher Guest as Mr. Coleman, Anna and Harry’s late father and Tess’s late husband

Production
The film's producer Andrew Gunn said he initially hoped Jodie Foster (who played Annabel in the original Freaky Friday film of 1976) would be interested in playing the mother in the remake. She declined in order to spend more time with her family, and because of concerns that the stunt casting would overshadow the film'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. The character ended up being rewritten.

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. 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. That is Lindsay Lohan's mother, Dina Lohan. Ryan Shuck coached Jamie Lee Curtis to play the guitar solo for the concert scene.

Lohan trained for one year to learn to play the guitar before production. In the final version of the film, however, both Curtis and Lohan were overdubbed by professional studio musicians. The snapshots in the opening credits are photos of Jamie Lee Curtis and her daughter, Annie Guest. Kelly Osbourne was originally set to play Maddie, but dropped out because she did not want to do a children's movie. She was replaced by Christina Vidal. Principal photography began on October 5, 2002, and it ended on December 18, 2002.

Home media
The film was released on DVD and VHS on December 16, 2003, by Walt Disney Home Video. It is now also available on Blu-Ray disc, which was released on September 11, 2012.

Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $22.2 million in 2,954 theaters, finishing second at the box office, behind S.W.A.T. ($37.1 million). The film went on to gross $110.2 million in North America and $50.6 million in other territories for a total of $160.8 million. The film was released in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2003, and opened on #4.

Critical response
Freaky Friday received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 88%, based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan charm in Mark Waters' nicely pitched -- and Disney's second -- remake of the 1976 hit." On Metacritic the film has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Jamie Lee Curtis's performance was singled out for praise by many critics. David Ansen of Newsweek noted that, "the most startling metamorphosis is Curtis' transformation from fading horror flick queen to dazzling comedienne. She goes on a teenage tear—tormenting Anna's younger brother (who wonders why Mom's acting so weird), getting down and dirty on a TV talk show where Tess is supposed to discuss her book on aging—with fiercely funny conviction."

Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly called her performance "glorious," and A. O. Scott from The New York Times contended that she "does some of her best work ever [in Freaky Friday]." Nick Davis described her as "so frisky and pouty and incandescent in Freaky Friday, she made the whole movie feel like something special." Her performance was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Lohan's performance was also praised. Roger Ebert wrote that she "has that Jodie Foster sort of seriousness and intent focus beneath her teenage persona." The film earned her the award for Breakthrough Performance at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards.

Nick Schager of Slant Magazine, however, objected to the body switching scene, calling it "a strange bit of 'Oriental mysticism' stereotyping that seems at odds with the film’s thematic focus on tolerance and understanding."

Soundtrack
The orchestral score was written by Rolfe Kent and orchestrated by Tony Blondal.

Awards and nominations
List awards to film and actress/actors.
 * Won
 * 2004 – MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance to Lindsay Lohan
 * 2004 – Teen Choice Awards for Choice Breakout Movie Star – Female to Lindsay Lohan
 * 2004 – Teen Choice Award for Choice Hissy Fit to Lindsay Lohan
 * 2004 – Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for Best Live Action Family Film
 * 2004 – BMI Film Music Award to Rolfe Kent
 * Nominated
 * 2003 – Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy to Jamie Lee Curtis
 * 2004 – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy to Jamie Lee Curtis
 * 2004 – Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film
 * 2004 – Saturn Award for Best Actress to Jamie Lee Curtis
 * 2004 – Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor to Lindsay Lohan
 * 2004 – Saturn Award for Best Writing to Heather Hach & Leslie Dixon
 * 2004 – Critics Choice Award for Best Family Film – Live Action
 * 2004 – Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for Best Live Action Family Film
 * 2004 – Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie – Comedy
 * 2004 – Young Artist Awards for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress to Lindsay Lohan
 * 2004 – Young Artist Awards for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actor Age Ten or Younger to Ryan Malgarini