Plenty of Lindsay Lohan fans have nostalgia for her classic movies, like The Parent Trap, Life-Size, and, of course, Mean Girls. But those aren't the only movies in the Lohan canon — and frankly, it's a disservice not to remember Lohan's other movies. Freaky Friday is one of Lindsay Lohan's most underrated works, but, honestly, it deserves just as much love as her other movies.
To be fair, Freaky Friday has an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from film critics. (Even the late Roger Ebert praised Lohan's performance in the movie.) Still, the movie is hardly ever mentioned when '00s babies wax poetic about the movies they grew up with. Like The Parent Trap, Freaky Friday is a remake of an older movie, with the original Freaky Friday having been released in 1976. But for fans of a younger generation, this is the version of Freaky Friday they saw in elementary or middle school, and it deserves more love.
Freaky Friday saw Lohan's character, Anna, switch bodies with her mom, Tess, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Like so many teenagers and their parents, Anna and Tess don't often get along before the body switch. Tess is trying to care for two kids as a single mom, while Anna just wants to to get through high school and jam with her band. But after a day in the other's shoes, the two of them learn way more about each other's lives.
Of course, the 2003 movie isn't without its issues. The body swap happens thanks to a fortune cookie from a Chinese restaurant, a storyline that would definitely be considered problematic today, and for good reason. There could have been any way for the two of them to switch bodies — it's a Disney movie, it doesn't have to make sense — and this was not a good choice. (Kartina Richardson explains more about Freaky Friday's problematic Chinese restaurant scene in a post for MirrorFilm, and it's worth a read.)
Despite that misstep, though, there are plenty of heartwarming and straight-up hilarious moments in the film. For example, there's a scene featuring Chad Michael Murray singing Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time," hilariously off-key. (When this movie came out, my mom thought this scene was hysterical, for whatever that's worth.) What makes it even funnier is that after spending a day with Tess — who's really Anna — Murray's character, Jake, isn't even sure who he's falling for.
There's also the fact that Anna's band, Pink Slip, actually performs during the movie. Their performances are filled with so much teenage angst that anyone older than 20 will have to laugh watching them, but that doesn't mean it's not fun. During the end of Freaky Friday, Lohan sings her song "Ultimate" from the movie's soundtrack, and, frankly, it's still a banger.
Of course, Freaky Friday seems to be getting its due recognition nowadays. Disney Channel is creating a new TV movie musical of Freaky Friday, which could bring in yet another new generation of fans. But for millennials, the Lindsay Lohan version will be the Freaky Friday to remember.
