Kids turning into adults. Adults turning into kids.
In preparation to see 17 Again tonight, I have decided to revisit all of the other adults and children switching places movies that I have loved in the past.
Big (1988) – “Have you ever had a really big secret?”
What the hell kind of tagline is that? Big is obviously the first movie that usually comes to mind when you’re thinking of these kinds of movies, even though 1988 was THE YEAR for movies like this. As everyone reading this should know, the kid makes a wish to grow up to a carnival machine and then turns into Tom Hanks. He gets a rad job and a cool house, but I don’t remember how…at least in 13 Going on 30, she is transported to her adult life already in progress, as in she is in the future, rather than an adult version of herself in present times where her kid self has disappeared. Also, Big is weird because of Tom Hanks’ relationship with an adult woman. Wow. This movie was bizarre and problematic. But hey, look at this!
13 Going on 30 (2004) – “For some, 13 feels like it was just yesterday. For Jenna, it was.”
I have an irrational hatred for Jennifer Garner that is mostly based on her character from “Felicity” (and real life relationship with Scott Foley). Merely looking at her usually makes me angry and is the reason I couldn’t watch “Alias.” I’ll admit that she is gorgeous, but her voice is annoying and I swear she is sucking her cheeks in on purpose sometimes. Anyway, I saw this movie by accident when I was home from college. I would like to attribute my enthusiasm for this movie to Mark Ruffalo, but honestly, Jennifer Garner did a wonderful job portraying a 13-year-old in a 30-year-old’s body (much like the great acting in Vice Versa). Her performance was just purely sweet. Unhateable. She doesn’t switch with anyone, rather she makes a wish on her 13th birthday to fast forward to her future, and thanks to some magical dollhouse dust, she wakes up the next day in her adult life. Surely the results of not knowing what happened in the last 17 years of your life would be more catastrophic than they were in this movie, but whatever. It is fully adorable.
Vice Versa (1988) – “The Comedy For The Kid In All Of Us.”
The only thing I really remember is that Fred Savage drinks a beer, I think. Like a generic, Repo Man-style beer can. Judge Reinhold is his dad, and they switch places. I probably like this more than Big, actually, but probably just as much as 13 Going on 30. Fred Savage was a great kid actor, showing even more promise than Lindsay Lohan ever did. I want to watch this again, right now.
Freaky Friday – “Mondays are manic. Wednesdays are wild. And Fridays are about to get a little freaky.” (2003)
I haven’t seen the Barbara Harris/Jodie Foster Freaky Friday (1976), but I have seen the made for TV Freaky Friday with Shelley Long/Gaby Hoffmann (1995). I’m pretty sure I had just read the book when I originally watched it, and I had a connection with Shelley Long because I watched “Cheers.” She gave a wholesomeness to the character because she always plays doofy and kind of dumb, which is good for a kid trapped in an adult’s body. I think most people are familiar with the premise – the mother and daughter complain about how easy the other’s life is until some sort of magic causes them to switch place for the day.
The Jamie Lee Curtis/Lindsay Lohan Freaky Friday (2003) threw in some a new obstacle: complicated love interests, and also some racist portrayals of Chinese people (which I forgave because of how much I like the movie otherwise). I was just thinking about how much I love Jamie Lee Curtis when I was watching True Lies the other day. Her timing in this is also perfect. Lindsay Lohan was still sort of a kid when this came out, and her acting is on par with Mean Girls. I still miss the days of precocious young Lindsay in The Parent Trap. I’m pretty sure I saw this at least twice in theaters.
I never saw Bruce Willis’ The Kid (2000), but it sounds kind of terrifying. The 8 year old version of himself appears to his adult self in order to help him get his life on track. Ack! I don’t remember if I ever saw Like Father, Like Son (1987) starring Dudley Moore/Kirk Cameron, but it’s basically father/son Freaky Friday with a magical potion. Actually, I think I saw this and appropriately forgot it. We’ll see where 17 Again lands in this territory.
My irrational hatred of Jennifer Garner stems (and this is really, truly irrational) from how muscular and skinny she is. I am really terrified of her body. That girl could whoop my ass. So I am afraid of her, and therefore hate her. But this is a good movie. With lots of Talking Heads songs.
Also the 1995 version of Freaky Friday is where I discovered my unparalleled love for Andrew Keegan, which prompted me to bury a time capsule in my friend Megan’s backyard declaring my undying love for him. I hope that some day, in, like, 2356 somebody digs it up and is totally perplexed by my feelings for Andrew.
You’ve never seen Like Father/Like Son?? This blog has no credibility.
I also have a (probably) irrational hatred of Jennifer Gardner. I think it’s because she often plays “the bitchy girlfriend/wife” in movies and because she looks like an alien.
i agree with that mathew p. schmidt guy. i mean, come on, kirk cameron and dudley moore take the “grass is always greener” comedy card to it’s limit. all these other movies are mere posers and wannabes.
mike seaver and arthur bach 4eva!
boys becoming men, men becoming wolves! (werewolf bar mitzvah, spooky scary!)
I don’t like Jennifer Garner either. Not that I hate her.
I mean, I definitely didn’t like her character in Felicity – she just got in the way of everything.
But doesn’t she have the most awkward body EVER??? Her proportions are either all wrong or she just stands in a very unflattering manner. Just awkward.
I am glad I’m not the only one who thinks this.
Sometimes my distaste for Garner carries into a dislike for Hilary Swank because they look similar to me – she is also awkward looking.
I watched the Barbara Harris/Jodie Foster Freaky Friday not too long ago… Holy shit.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
Just wait until they start producing Shaggy Dog remakes.
Shelley Long in the 1995 Freaky Friday I thoroughly enjoyed in fact there is little that Shelley Long does that I don`t enjoy. She seems to put so much energy in to her films and here we find her roller blading. What with the ups and downs with her daughter and trying to keep her clothes business alive I found it an all action film. A shame its impossible to get this film on DVD,
to get away from the jennifer garner hate-fest, i just wanted to comment on big. Big was a huge part of my child-hood since it was half of my “sick tape” (a vhs of big and princess bride which i would watch whenever i stayed home from school sick, which was a lot since i was a hypochondriac). anyway, i always hated that part where his adult girlfriend tries to take things a step further and he touches her boob – under-shirt/over-bra. it made me feel verrrry uncomfortable. i also hated the part where he gets into a fight with the guy playing hand-ball. i was like, why are adults so mean and scary?!