FREAKIER FRIDAY
(director: Nisha Ganatra; screenwriters: Jordan Weiss/story by Weiss & Elyse Hollander/book by Mary Rodgers; cinematographer: Matthew Clark; editor: Eleanor Infante; music: Amie Doherty; cast: Jamie Lee Curtis (Tess Coleman), Lindsay Lohan (Anna Coleman), Julia Butters (Harper Coleman), Sophia Hammons (Lily Reyes), Manny Jacinto (Eric Reyes), Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Ella), Rosalind Chao (Mama P), Chad Michael Murray (Jake, ex hubby of Anna), Mark Harmon (Ryan), Christina Vidal Mitchell (Maddie), Vanessa Bayer (Madame Jen), Stephen Tobolowsky (Mr. Elton Bates), X Mayo (Principal Waldman), Lucille Soong (Grandma Chiang), Ryan Malgarini (Harry), Haley Hudson (Peg), Santina Muha (Judy), Jordan E. Cooper (Jett); Runtime: 111; MPAA Rating: PG; producers: Kristin Burr, Andrew Gunn, Jamie Lee Curtis; Walt Disney Pictures; 2025)
“It’s sitcom comedy at its worse.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Canadian filmmaker Nisha Ganatra (“The High Note “/”Late Night”) directs this below average film made as a cash grab. It’s an incoherent and humorless comical sequel to the better made 2003 original body-swap comedy. It reunites its stars and offers the same plot, but is made freakier because this time instead of two bodies switching there are four. It’s written with oddball set pieces and many unexplored subplots by Jordan Weiss, who writes the story with Elyce Hollander. It’s based on the book by Mary Rodgers.
The widowed former therapist Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) lives in Los Angeles and has a 30-something divorced music executive daughter Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan), now the manager of singing star Ella (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). Tess cares a lot about Anna, who through movie magic swaps bodies with her rebellious teenage surfer daughter Harper (Julia Butters).
The divorced Anna is set to marry the widower Eric (Manny Jacinto), a London chef/restaurant owner visiting LA., who is devoted to his snooty fashion maven daughter Lily (Sophia Hammons). Lily swaps bodies with Tess, as the wedding has been sabotaged by the psychic Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer) casting a spell on both daughters who can’t stomach each other.
Things are contrived, awkward, silly and dumb in this overlong narrative about body swapping. There are too many plot holes to count them all. It’s sitcom comedy at its worse. Its goofiness might appeal to fans of Jamie Lee. But despite spirited performances by the likeable Jamie Lee and the attractive Lohan, the film just doesn’t have anything special.
REVIEWED ON 8/15/2025 GRADE: C-
dennisschwartzreviews.com