Freaky Friday (1976)

Oh, Disney... where does your awesomeness end?? A mother and daughter find their personalities switched and have to live each other's lives on one strange Friday. I thought this was cute and not bad. All of the fancy characters struggle against a system that has perpetuated falsehoods. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. They do however drive the story, which seemed to be their purpose, so I can accept them. I am not saying the film is a classic, but it was good enough. I laughed and was moved and all of that good stuff. It gets 7 out of 10.

Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster make Freaky Friday very good wholesome family fun. Foster and Harris are the whole entertaining show. I really love Freaky Friday as it's so plainly enjoyable. Annabel is one of Foster's many great roles. Preteen Jodie is terrific as Annabel. Young Foster is so good as Annabel, she darn near makes Freaky Friday more than just a free flowing comedy by craftily emplacing dramatic depth through her characterization. Freaky Friday takes on a higher meaning than its fun and simply good story. There's no discernible plot and it's a good thing! It shows sort as a series of kind moments, I really appreciate it for that. Barbara Harris is excellent as Mrs. Andrews. She really nails the feel of the movie with her performance. Barbara Harris IS soooo gorgeous. Freaky Friday has an easily enjoyable premise. The mother becoming the daughter and going back to school and the daughter becoming the mother and going off to work is a great movie formula. The Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan Freaky Friday isn't nearly as good as this one, but I still like that one too. This movie is massively popular. Freaky Friday is beyond great, its greatness isn't restrained by its technical rating. Freaky Friday is a friendly, fun, fine film.

I'm not sure why, but when 'Freaky Friday' first came out (or was it a rerelease) I saw the film instead of going to a birthday party where bowling was the fun activity of choice. Miles away in California, my future friend Marshall was aching to see the film, only to be dragged to a free presentation of 'The Donna Shore Show', with his parents. This scared him deeply. I helped to heal this scar by letting him finally watch the film he avoided for so many years because of Donna Shore. After he finally he got to watch just a little of it, he concluded that he really didn't miss all that much.Is my friend right? I want to point out a few of the flaws of the film and compare them to the 2003 remake as best as I can remember it. There was also a 1995 remake with Shelly Long I never saw and will leave alone. First there is the way in which the Freaky Friday switch happens. In the remake, there is some magic charm from some fortune teller that causes mother and daughter to switch places. In the original it happens because the script says it does. Fantasy Phenomenon does not always need an explanation especially when the film is more or less a parable, but the film makes more sense in the remake.The second thing is there is no real interaction on screen between the mother and the daughter. You would think if something weird happened like switching bodies with someone you would want to talk about it with other person, but this never happens. It does happen in the remake which is very logical and believable. I always have a hard time accepting the actors in a body switching movie. I usually can't buy a adult playing a kid and vice versa. 13 going on 30 seemed to be the most successful attempt I have seen at it. I also usually feel this way when men try to discuses themselves as women. As funny as it is, it is still Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams in drag and I can tell. Charlie Chaplin actually did make a very convincing woman.This brings me to the last major flaw which is the believability of some of the action. I find it hard to believe that a 13 year old wouldn't know how to run a washer and that a grown women wouldn't' know how to run an electric typewriter especially when other adults know how to do the same thing. The lack of believability usually kills a film but not this one. There is a logical explanation for every action in the film. Every thing that happens in the film happens simply for yucks. And by some stroke of Disney magic it works. Towards the end of the film, one character remarks, "Your whole family is a bunch of comedians." That seems to ring through in this film. The wacky silliness works much the same way a Marx Bros. film works. The crazy things that happen are so odd, unusual, and well timed that their funny. A funny scene has the daughter at home in the mom's body thinking she will just watch TV and eat snacks, only to have every Tom, Dick, and Harriot come to the house for some reason or other. Rugs, Groceries, House Cleaning est. The ending chase scene would make Buster Keaton proud. It's also neat to see how 70's everything is.If you want even a half way decent thinking comic fantasy, this is not your film. There are plenty of other films with the same fantasy element that covers that category. If you want a nice family friendly no brainer wacky comedy that will entertain the kids this is your film. It's worth a place in the family library right along side your Marx Bros. comedies. In reality this does not compare to the genius of their work, but it's fun to watch and so are the Marx's and you should introduce your kids to them at some point like my did to me.

Disney has this movie released in 1976, and the name of it? "Freaky Friday!!!!!" This is a very original film from the good folks at Disney. Here, for one day, two people happen to switch places!!!!! And thanks to this, many shows (mostly from the Disney properties) often follow the same format on at least one episode!!!!! (such as "8 Simple Rules," etc.)What I like about this movie: It's fun! I mean, with a name like "Freaky Friday," why wouldn't this movie be fun, huh????? Also, I recall seeing this on the old Disney Channel back in 1997, and I've seen the remake on ABC in 1995 (I think), and both movies are great! However, even though I've seen the 2003 edition, that is NOTHING like the 1976 and 1995 versions that Disney has released."Freaky Friday" is a fun classic. Hey, I've written this on a Friday, too! How ironic!!!!!10/10