Wish Upon a Star

WISH UPON A STAR works an appealing but somewhat overdone premise. What would happen if you could trade places with someone with a better life than you, even for a few days? Movies like Big, 13 Going on 30, and Freaky Friday all trafficked in the same what-if scenario to better results, but Wish Upon a Star is not entirely without its charms. Here, Heigl and Harrison have good chemistry, and having them both long for the same boyfriend and ultimately forced to appreciate each other's strengths and weaknesses makes for some nice insights into sibling rivalry and grass-is-greener thinking about other's lives.

Unfortunately, it falls a bit into stereotypes about being smart versus being popular or fashionable, and because the camera spends so much time literally panning Heigl's body in mini-skirts, and because her looks, and the affections of her boyfriend and dressing in a risque way becomes such a routine part of the plot (which involves a lot of kissing, some welcomed catcalls, and a striptease-style dance), it moves the material into a more mature zone. The main performances aren't bad (though nearly all supporting roles are forgettable), the messages are ultimately positive, but parents may feel a little bit uncomfortable with the frequent literal zoning in on Heigl at the expense of more substance.