What Critics Are Saying About Freakier Friday

If you've watched and enjoyed one of the earlier Freaky Friday movies over the years—starting with the 1976 original—then it's a safe bet you'll like Freakier Friday, too. That seems to be the consensus as the latest iteration starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan opens on Friday. This one is a sequel to the 2003 film with the same two stars, and it might be worth noting that while it has a so-so 73% "fresh" score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences are way more appreciative at 94%. A sampling:

• The movie "works best if you're there for the memories," writes Alissa Wilkinson at the New York Times. "Especially if you've learned a lesson or two of your own in the last 22 years."
• Ty Burr of the Washington Post hands out a meager 2.5 stars, though he suggests that Curtis' hammy performance is worth the price of admission. Freakier Friday "is an inoffensive product with good intentions and a cardboard heart, but, these days, watching Curtis strut her stuff is an out-of-body experience all on its own."
• Lohan does a nice job, too, writes Johnny Oleksinski at the New York Post. "The Mean Girls actress seems rejuvenated this time. Probably because her charisma and pluckiness are much better showcased when she plays opposite an actress of Curtis' caliber." As for the movie itself, it "takes an already outlandish setup and excessively doubles it—much like when Taco Bell started making shells out of Doritos." Thus, it can be a little confusing.
• Michael Phillips at the Chicago Tribune is a little cranky about the whole thing. "Is it fun? Almost? Kind of? Yes. Almost, and kind of. Director Nisha Ganatra jollies it along, with editor Eleanor Infante making as much rhythmic sense of the mix-ups and physical craziness as possible. But there is a strain to it all. Doubling the bodies swapped ends up feeling like six times the chaos, not two: Cheaper by the Dozen with a heavy side of The Parent Trap."