REVIEW: ‘Freakier Friday’ suffers from repetition but charms with heart

The first “Freaky Friday” isn’t that old, right? It’s only been… 22 years?!

Yes, that film with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan was released more than two decades ago, and now, we get the sequel. Both actresses return for the follow-up, with Lohan again playing Anna, who now has a daughter of her own, Harper (Julia Butters). Curtis, meanwhile, is back as the helpful grandma, Tess.

The movie picks up with Anna having met a new love interest in Eric (Manny Jacinto), and after a courtship, the two decide to get married. That’s much to the chagrin of Harper and Eric’s daughter, Lily (Sophia Hammons), as the two future siblings don’t get along. Things only get more complicated when the four women in the family all switch bodies at a pre-wedding party.

As a proper sequel should, “Freakier Friday” does up the ante compared to its predecessor. By having four characters swap bodies rather than just two, there are more arcs to be had and additional perspectives to explore. In that sense, “Freakier Friday” succeeds at offering audiences something new while keeping the original spirit.

Seeing Tess and Anna go through round two of this, while Harper and Lily experience it for the first time, is a fairly fun time. There’s plenty for both pairs to see and do, allowing for some amusing moments littered throughout.

At the same time, there is a lot of familiar family friendly drama that is rather common in the genre. Sibling rivalries, children looking with disdain toward their parents in a new relationship, and a general clash of generational pop culture knowledge are often recycled for these types of movies and that’s the case in FF2.

The film is also loaded with generational jokes, as well as the gaps in social cues and pop culture. That’s not entirely surprising considering the concept, but at times there’s just so much thrown at the audience that it gets a bit excessive, especially since this one is closer to two hours, when the original was just slightly longer than 90 minutes.

What keeps the film from feeling exhaustive, though, is that it has some genuine heart. There are a few familial moments of bonding and reaching understandings that have genuine emotion. Sure, a few scenes pull on heartstrings or feel a bit convenient, but it works for what it is.

The core four in the cast all have fun in their roles, too. Curtis and Lohan are great at playing both their actual characters, and the two teenage personalities that are in their bodies. Butters, is also good as Harper, but the one who really steals the show in a few scenes is Hammons. When she’s playing as Tess, she manages to capture Curtis’ energy and express the older character’s wisdom.

As for the overall cinematic feel, “Freakier Friday” does sometimes come across like a small screen project, and it’s fairly surprising it wasn’t just put out on Disney+. Thematically, though, it hits some good notes, and should leave its target audience satisfied.

“Freakier Friday” doesn’t break any ground, but it doesn’t disappoint either. It delivers some charm and laughs, with a cast that’s down for all the silliness at play. Plus, the familial connections being built over the runtime feel authentic. 3.25 out of 5.