“Freakier Friday” has been unveiled to members of the film press, and first reactions are calling it a “great feel-good film” that is “hilarious” as it is “touching.”
TV host Jeff Conway took to X to share his praise. He gushed that the film was “double the fun” with “twice the heart” as the original “Freaky Friday.”
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“These 22 years later, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis haven’t missed a beat! Their on-screen chemistry is truly something special,” he wrote. “A true delight that the entire family will enjoy.”
Variety’s senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay wrote on X that the film was “an absolute riot,” adding that she “laughed” out loud and “cried” during the tender family moments.
“It’s such a great feel-good film,” she wrote. “Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis deliver hilarity and emotion in this funtastic sequel. I never knew I needed this film! Oh and Manny Jacinto, I love him.”
Entertainment journalist Brandon Davis echoed the praise, writing on X that he was “howling” with laughter during Tuesday night’s premiere screening.
“Jamie Lee Curtis is having the time of her life and it’s a blast to watch,” Davis wrote. “It’s silly and sometimes confusing but hilarious throughout, even touching at times. Absolutely some of the most fun I’ve had watching a movie this year.”
“Freakier Friday” takes place years after the original. Anna now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As she attempts to navigate the struggles of merging her two families, Anna finds herself, her mom Tess, her daughter and her stepdaughter in a four-way body swap. What starts as pure chaos soon helps them find some understanding amid the complicated family transition.
Original stars Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis return as the leading mother-daughter duo. Other cast members include Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Manny Jacinto, Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
While speaking to Variety at the Las Culturistas Culture Awards, Curtis said she has learned a lot from Lohan since returning for the Disney sequel.
“She has taught me so much,” Curtis said. “She has her team, where her two people would be standing on either side of a camera holding a big light. It’s Lindsay lighting — that would have been good branding — they hold lights so that we look better. So, I’ve learned a lot from her already. We had a good time. We love each other.”
The original 2003 “Freaky Friday,” based on Mary Rodgers’ 1972 novel, follows widowed mother Tess and her teenage daughter Anna. During an impasse in their relationship, they find a magic fortune cookie that causes them to swap bodies, resulting in a deeper familiarity between them.
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