tbills2
Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster make Freaky Friday very good wholesome family fun. Foster and Harris are the whole entertaining show. I really love Freaky Friday as it's so plainly enjoyable. Annabel is one of Foster's many great roles. Preteen Jodie is terrific as Annabel. Young Foster is so good as Annabel, she darn near makes Freaky Friday more than just a free flowing comedy by craftily emplacing dramatic depth through her characterization. Freaky Friday takes on a higher meaning than its fun and simply good story. There's no discernible plot and it's a good thing! It shows sort as a series of kind moments, I really appreciate it for that. Barbara Harris is excellent as Mrs. Andrews. She really nails the feel of the movie with her performance. Barbara Harris IS soooo gorgeous. Freaky Friday has an easily enjoyable premise. The mother becoming the daughter and going back to school and the daughter becoming the mother and going off to work is a great movie formula. The Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan Freaky Friday isn't nearly as good as this one, but I still like that one too. This movie is massively popular. Freaky Friday is beyond great, its greatness isn't restrained by its technical rating. Freaky Friday is a friendly, fun, fine film.
TheLittleSongbird
It wasn't 100% perfect, but it did entertain me. I will say I also enjoyed the 2003 remake as it was fresh and funny. That said, this is definitely worth seeing. It does start off very briskly, but it loses its way just towards the end, and one or two of the gags were lacking. That said, the script does have its humorous and touching parts, the film is nice to watch visually with nice cinematography, scenery and costumes, the music was nice and upbeat and the premise intrigued me. The direction was also assured, but what made the film was the two sterling lead performances of Barbara Harris and especially Jodie Foster as the mother and daughter who swap bodies for a day. The supporting performances while not as effervescent were also effective. Overall, I liked it, it wasn't perfect, but there are certainly worse movies out there. 7/10 Bethany Cox
that_ealing_feeling
It may interest some readers to know that this story of a parent/child identity swap originates with the British comic author F Anstey's novel Vice Versa, published in 1882, and there have been at least 10 film and TV versions of it (probably more), going back as far as 1916, under various titles. It's a pretty decent time-passer for a Sunday afternoon, and suitable for all the family to watch together, but I think Jodie Foster's role was slightly too sexualised. To be fair, back in 1976 we weren't quite as sensitive to that kind of thing as we are today. For example, Foster's 1978 film Pretty Baby would, quite rightly, never get a release today. However, Freaky Friday is generally good, old-fashioned family fare.
Kristine
I saw the remake of Freaky Friday first before I ever saw this Freaky Friday, and you might hate me when I say, I didn't know until a year ago that it was a remake, not to mention that it starred an unknown little actress, Jodie Foster. But when I heard, I got excited and wanted to see it immediately since I loved the remake, but I could never find the original at the video store, but finally I came across it yesterday at Hollywood Video. I just watched it this morning and while I enjoyed it, I found the remake to be a little more entertaining, I'll explain in just a minute.Ellen is a house maker and a mom who is constantly on the go and taken for granted, Annabelle is her sloppy disorganized daughter, and they just can't seem to understand each other. But when they are both talking about each other, they say the magic words "I wish she could just be in my shoes for one day", and their bodies switch! Now Ellen has to learn what it is like to be her tomboy sports loving daughter and Annabelle has to learn what a complicated life her mom has with chores, babysitting, cooking, and being in charge of the house with a husband who takes her for granted constantly.Freaky Friday has some good humor and some light laughs here and there, but I think the reason why I enjoyed the remake with Jamie Lee Curtis a little better was because of the times. Today's world is constantly on the go, not to mention I think that kids are a little more rebellious, so the mom and daughter had more to learn from each other in that film. But I would never say shy away from this Freaky Friday because it is a classic and has some good laughs and a good ending.6/10
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