Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Freaky Friday (2003) - Lohan/Curtis delight in M. Waters' solid body swap comedy

1/30/2019

Freaky Friday (2003) - Lohan/Curtis delight in M. Waters' solid body swap comedy

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Fantasy Movie of the Year

Colorful hijinks is promised from the two game stars, who have swapped outfits on this poster for Mark Waters' Freaky Friday

A mother and her teenage daughter don't get along and mock each other. Now fortune cookies from a Chinese restaurant cause them to switch bodies, until they learn to respect and love each other again.

Freaky Friday is written by Heather Hach (What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)) and Leslie Dixon (Pay It Forward (2000)), based on the same-titled 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers (The Rotten Book (1969)), which was previously adapted as the hit movie Freaky Friday (1976) as well as a same-titled 1995 TV movie. This one is directed by great Michigander filmmaker Mark Waters (Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)).
Freaky Friday distinguishes itself as a surprisingly good and funny high-concept chick-flick fantasy romcom; it is totally banal and predictable but well-made.
The story is handled very well, and the film has funny scenes (like the talkshow and rock concert scenes) and good performances from Lindsay Lohan (Just My Luck (2006)) and especially Jamie Lee Curtis (Scream Queens (2015-16)), which make it thrive. Body language and phrases are aptly swapped between the two characters, making this a funny and well-written hit for all.

Related posts:

Mark Waters: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) - Waters and Carrey's great family movie
Mean Girls (2004) - Lohan, Waters and Fey's high school satire triumph

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 160.8 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned 8.04 times its cost)
[Freaky Friday premiered 4 August (Hollywood, California) and runs 97 minutes. Jodie Foster, star of the 1976 iteration, declined the offer for Curtis' role, which Annette Bening was then signed on to play but dropped due to family obligations; Curtis only got the role 4 days before filming began. Filming took place in California, including Los Angeles, from October - December 2002. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release S.W.A.T., to a 22.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 4 weeks in the top 5 (#4-#4-#2-#4) and grossed 110.2 mil. $ (68.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 11.9 mil. $ (7.4 %) and Germany with 6 mil. $ (3.7 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, in line with this review. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe. Waters returned with Mean Girls (2004). Lohan returned in 3 shorts before her next theatrical appearance in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), Curtis in Christmas with the Kranks (2004). Freaky Friday is certified fresh at 87 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (6-24)

1/30/2019

Freaky Friday (2003) - Lohan/Curtis delight in M. Waters' solid body swap comedy

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

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