Freaky Friday (PG, 2003)

common sense media says

Mother-daughter switch is fun comedic chaos.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that kids use rude schoolyard words ("sucks," "blows," etc.). Anna wants to get the side of her ear pierced, and when she is in her mother's body, she does. There is some kissing (the ew-factor of Ryan's wanting to kiss Tess, not knowing that Anna is occupying her body, is handled with some delicacy). There are some tense family scenes and the movie deals with issues of parental control and teen rebellion.

Violence & scariness: Not applicable.
Sexy stuff: Kissing.
Language: Some rude schoolyard words ("sucks," "blows," etc).
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Social drinking.

More on Freaky Friday

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about why it is hard for Tess and Anna to understand each other at the beginning of the movie. If the parents and children in your family switched places, what would be the biggest surprises? Families may also want to discuss some of the choices Tess and Anna make, especially the resolution of Anna's problems with her English teacher and the honors exam. And it might be nice to compare this to the original movie, in which the mother is a full-time mom in a two-parent household, and the daughter's challenges center around housework.

What's the story?

What's the story?

In the third version of the book by Mary Rodgers, Jamie Lee Curtis plays Tess, a compassionate therapist and a loving, if harried mother of two children. Her husband died three years ago, and she's about to be married to the devoted, understanding Ryan (Mark Harmon). Lindsay Lohan is her daughter Anna, who, like most 15-year-olds, thinks that she has both too much of her mother's attention (when it comes to telling her what to do) and not enough (when it comes to knowing what's important to her, which she thinks Tess should just be able to intuit, since Anna doesn't really want to tell her anything). When the two of them get into an argument at a Chinese restaurant, the owner's mother gives them magic fortune cookies. The next morning, they wake up as each other. While they figure out how to return to their own bodies, each has to spend the day living the other's life.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Curtis and Lohan are so clearly enjoying themselves in FREAKY FRAIDAY that they're fun to watch. And the story moves along so briskly that its logical flaws barely get in the way.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Buena Vista
Director: Mark Waters
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 95 minutes
Theatrical release: August 8, 2003
DVD release: December 16, 2003
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: mild thematic elements and some language

This review was written by Nell Minow
 
 

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What parents & educators say

7

Most useful reviews by all members

Marie-Anne
teen, 14 years old
 
bad
not very good din't like it

Spongebob Fan
kid, 13 years old
 
Cute Movie for all ages interested.
Younger children won't be interested, but older tweens and teens will enjoy tame humor and smart writing. It is work to be admired for the comedy and work put in by Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. I enjoyed it. The only concerns are schoolyard words "scr**ed", "s**ks", etc, but nothing too awful.

Tsion
parent of 15 year old
 
Fun, Funny, and Sometimes Genuinely Touching...
FREAKY FRIDAY is a studio's nightmare. The sucess of the movie rides completely on the strength of the two main performances. The script and direction mean nothing if those two actors aren't cast perfectly. Lucky for us, they were. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsey Lohan are perfect in this movie, believable and very funny. Also, there's little objectionable material. There is no language, only some crude terms like "sucks" and one use of "h*ll" ("makeover from h*ll"). There are some mild, harmless innuendos that will go over kids' heads, like when Mark Harmon's character causes Curtis to trip over a couch, and her dad says "save it for the honeymoon". No violence, drugs, or negative role models. Quite the contrary, actually. While both mother and daughter act immaturely to begin with, they each act out of love towards the end.

MissE1000
teen, 16 years old
 
LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!
Awesome movie, relevant for a lot of moms and daughters. There is one reference that is failed to be pointed out where Anna, who was in her mom's body at the moment, refers to a girl "doing it" in a sexual way, but it is used appropriately and will go over most kid's heads.

Abbyrae11256
kid, 13 years old
 
tweens only
The girl is mean to her mom and the words ewww

NewJasonHaddad
kid, 12 years old
 
TV-PG TV-14 TV-MA
on Disney, TBS, Spike, and Sleuth is rated TV-PG, and on Syndicated (coming soon, but now customized), Logo TV and Hallmark is rated TV-14 and TV-MA (L,N,SSC,AC,AS,V,$)

Katy0
teen, 17 years old
 
Great Fun
This movie is quite fun with solid performances from the leads.

Lupinta
kid, 11 years old
 
Funny Show
A mother daughter relationship. A really funny show.

Artist422
kid, 12 years old
 
Not bad...
Some language when daughter is mom, Anna is a bad role model when the movie starts but gets better, same with messages...

Auddrey.
teen, 15 years old
 
Kid movie.
i didn't really like it. just wasn't funny. loved it when i was little.

lovestrukkstar ...
teen, 14 years old
 
5 star movie
Why does CSM rate the language 3/5 stars? This movie is really good and portrays a very good message about a mom and a daughter who just can't understand each other. Even though I'm in my teens, I still love this movie.

robinrunner
teen, 14 years old
 
Funny, and might just get you closer to your own Mom or kid
I don't know how many times I watched Freaky Friday, but I enjoyed it every time. However, it is obvious that some parents won't enjoy it. The Mother-Daughter relationship is terrible in the beggining of the movie. While the daughter is in the mothers body, she kisses her love-intrest and rides with him on the back of his motorcycle-just before she is about to get married. A mom talks about reading her daughters diary and realizing that her daughter wants to have you know what (but she doesn't say it). In the end a grandson calls his Grandfather an "old f*rt." Otherwise, Freaky Friday can be a loving story about a mother and daughter slowly abandoning each other become closer.

dramaqueen@hot ...
parent of 11 year old
 
cool movie!
its movies like this when u wish sometimes u could be ur mom for a day that be so cool! and Freaky Friday is exactly like that hey u might even get closer to ur mom after watching this movie a really good movie for all ages!

spongebob63
kid, 10 years old
 
nice movie watch it if you can
this is a good movie watch it LANGUAGE- one use of hell sucks blows SEX- some harmless kisses HIGHLIGHTS- anna and her mother learn to get along together RATING : PG for mild thematic elements and some language kind of movie : comedy

iPunk
teen, 14 years old
 
Two lucky ladies seeing eachother's lives
I liked that Anna and Tess got a hands-on experience of the other's perspective of their on-the-edge relationship. Sometimes I could get a good feel of other peoples perspective. But it was funny to people because it was an awkward mother-daughter relationship. It would be boring to people if it was an extremely disfunctional friendship. If you want a kid friendly version of the Kardashians, this is the movie for you and your family.

mrbookworm01
teen, 13 years old
 
Really funny!
It was a really good movie that shows how life can be in someone else's shoes. Plus, it's really funny! Violence: Some mild slapstick violence Sex: Some mild cleavage, flirting, and kissing. Drinking: Alchol at the rehearsal dinner.


kid, 12 years old
 
to much
then i will never let anyone under 14 watch this


teen, 14 years old
 
to much
then i will never let anyone under 14 watch this

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age