Freakier Friday Movie Review: Jamie Lee Curtis serves up magic once again in a vanilla sequel

Freakier Friday Movie Review:

Good family values are like kombucha. The initial taste might make you almost detest it. But the more it is left to ferment, the more flavourful it becomes. The more effort you put into stirring the pot, and adding the ingredients, the more you appreciate its taste. Your palate might react and crave it with even more intensity than it does for any fizzy, sugary caffeinated drinks. But why have we started with an advertisement for this effervescent drink? Because, much like family, it flourishes when it thrives under the right temperatures and safety of the known. Family seems to be the theme this season as we saw it being brandished on the big screen in the recent The Fantastic Four: First Steps, James Gunn's Superman, and on comparatively smaller screens with Wednesday's Season 2 on Netflix. Joining this list is Freakier Friday, a body-swap comedy that thrives in its chaos, but never forgets the importance of 'Family.' It is a world where mothers and daughters drive each other into walls and the overwhelming estrogen energy conduits into live metal guitar performances in each other's heads. However, unlike its predecessor, director Nisha Ganatra chooses to amp up its craziness but keeps the emotional factor to a tight minimum.

Many things have changed between Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) since the events of the 2003 film. Anna is a single mother raising her daughter Harper (Julia Butters) with the help of Tess. The duo is struggling to keep up with Harper's raging teenage hormones, and her fights with Lily Davies (Sophia Hammons). A meet-cute with her father, Eric (Manny Jacinto), ends up in Anna's wedding, but the rift between Harper and Lily only grows bigger.

Director: Nisha Ganatra

Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon, Manny Jacinto, Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Chad Michael Murray, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Rosalind Chao, Ryan Malgarini, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Haley Hudson, Stephen Tobolowsky, Lucille Soong

Full credit to Nisha for erasing Asian stereotypes, and Freakier Friday feels like a deliberate attempt at rekindling magic once again, this time with a four-way body swap. Jamie Lee Curtis charms her way into our hearts by wearing baffling costumes one moment, and instantly channeling her eccentricities in another. She holds the entire magic show of the sequel in her hands. As she fits into Lily's behavioural patterns, she delivers lines that are aimed at offending millennials, boomers, Gen-X, and cheekily herself as well. The lines are either brilliantly tailored for her or it is just good ol' Jamie delivering the goods. At one point, much like the original, she calls herself a "birkin bag that's been left to rot" and in another, she calls Facebook a "database for old people".  The self-inflicted body jokes continue, but they are so well-mannered and goody-goody that by the time you process it, another crackling comedy lights up the screen.

Julia Butters and Sophia Hammons act and play like adults whilst also portraying teenagers with such intensity that it's hard to ignore their real ages. But unlike Julia, Sophia struggles to bring out her immigrant emotions, and the writing doesn't give her the space to do it either. It is only through Eric that we learn about Sophia's trauma and the feeling of never having a complete home. Aimed as a full-fledged comedy, Freakier Friday disappointingly doesn't give the space to explore these complex feelings. Leave aside hormones, what does it feel like to raise a child who mirrors you? Someone who is a million times more over-exposed than you are, and has a constant need to stay abreast of trends to beat bullies. A Mean Girl star like Lohan will know best, but the film never enters these territories. It stays blissfully carefree from these chains to focus on the crumbling family and saving Anna's marriage.

Lohan gets a comeback to theatres after a string of Netflix romcoms in a role that didn't reaffirm her versatility, and this could be that fresh start. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Ella, unfortunately, loses the sheen of her performance in a role that's hollow and gullible, and Jake's (Chad Michael Murray) entry is simply a last-ditch attempt that goes nowhere.

But Freakier Friday does have a couple of new magic tricks up its sleeve. It chooses to stay relevant and aware of its priorities, including mental health-related values. Earlier on in the film, Harper has a sign on her door that asks people to "respect her space" and says, "no triggering." Anna rarely lets her emotions get the better of her, while Tess constantly asks Anna to reconsider her words and decisions as a parent, thanks to her newfound inspiration to work on parenting podcasts. The team wants to genuinely showcase positive and gentle parenting methods, and it shows. It knows its zany vibe and its attempt at not trying anything apart from the book, surprisingly works, not to mention a classic Disney trick of placing a dance sequence where the entire family comes together. A perfect description of cringe-worthy pleasure.

Although Hollywood is currently banking on nostalgia bait, reboots, and sequels, there are times, like watching this film, when it feels almost grudgingly acceptable to be loud, unabashed, and slightly freakier.