Story
It’s 20 years since Anna (Lindsay Lohan) swapped bodies with her mother (Jamie Lee Curtis). Anna is now a single mum raising her own teenage daughter Harper (Julia Butters), while Tess tries to help by constantly interfering.
When Harper has an argument with visiting British student Lily (Sophia Hammons), which results in damage to the science department, Anna and Lily’s father Eric (Manny Jacinto) are called to the school. Much to the horror of both girls, Anna and Eric share an instant attraction, which leads to a date and ultimately to an engagement.
The prospect of moving to London and living as a blended family causes tension, and a cosmic intervention seems inevitable. Anna, Tess and the teenagers meet a fortune teller the night of the engagement party. When they wake up the following morning, Anna is in Harper’s body, Harper is Anna, Tess is Lily, and Lily, much to her horror, is Tess.
Anna and Tess call on lessons they learned in the original body swap to navigate the situation. But nothing works, and with the wedding looming, they decide to tackle life as best they can in their current states.
While masquerading as adults, Lily and Harper decide that they need to change their parents’ minds about the marriage, so they set about sabotaging Anna and Eric’s upcoming nuptials. They begin to bond as they spend time together, but when their plan finally works, it doesn’t have the effect they intended.
Themes
Family breakdown; death of a parent; blended families; magical curses; rebellion
Violence
Freakier Friday has some violence. For example:
- Lily and Harper accidentally disrupt a science experiment. This causes foam to fill their science classroom and burst through the windows.
- There’s a huge food fight when Lily dumps Tess’s bake sale cookies in the garbage and Anna smears a pavlova down Lily’s chest. People throw food around wildly, students are hit and fall to the ground. The principal is hit in the face with a pie and has to be taken to hospital because of an allergic reaction.
- Some high school students throw garbage at Lily.
Sexual references
Freakier Friday has some sexual references. For example:
- Lily, in Tess’s body, tells a young man that she thinks he’s cute.
- Lily, in Tess’s body, tells Harper, in Anna’s body, that she has to be sexy and make a ‘grand, sexy entrance’ to her old boyfriend’s shop. ‘Anna’ bites her lip, flicks her hair and strikes sexy poses.
- Anna and Eric take tango lessons to prepare for their wedding dance. The instructor tries to make the dance as sexy as possible.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Freakier Friday shows some use of substances. For example:
- Characters drink wine and champagne.
- Harper and Lily are excited to be drinking alcohol while they’re in the bodies of Anna and Tess.
- ‘Harper’ takes champagne out of ‘Anna’s’ hand at an engagement party where most guests are drinking.
Nudity and sexual activity
Freakier Friday has some nudity and sexual activity. For example, Anna and Eric kiss several times. When Harper is in Anna’s body, she makes excuses not to kiss Eric.
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in Freakier Friday: Parcheesi, Boggle, Capitol Records, Walgreens, Fixodent, Starbucks and Facebook.
Coarse language
Freakier Friday has some coarse language, name-calling and insults, including ‘dipstick’, ‘twit’, ‘idiot’, ‘stupid’, ‘multi-hyphenate lunatic’, ‘bloody backstabber’, ‘piss off’ and ‘hell’.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Freakier Friday is a fantasy comedy and the sequel to 2003’s Freaky Friday. With familiar characters, a similar plot and new twists, Freakier Friday is likely to appeal to fans of the original. It’s best suited to viewers aged over 9 years.
These are the main messages from Freakier Friday:
- It’s important to see the world from fresh perspectives.
- Everyone should be true to themselves rather than conforming to other people’s expectations.
- Love, empathy and understanding can bridge even the biggest generational gaps.
Values in Freakier Friday that you could reinforce with your children include empathy, communication, forgiveness, compassion and unity.
Freakier Friday could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the importance of communicating openly and honestly with loved ones, no matter how difficult that might be.