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Freaky Friday (2003 film) facts for kids

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Freaky Friday
Freaky Friday (2003 film).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mark Waters
Produced by Andrew Gunn
Screenplay by
  • Heather Hach
  • Leslie Dixon
Starring
Music by Rolfe Kent
Cinematography Oliver Wood
Editing by Bruce Green
Studio
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s) August 4, 2003 (2003-08-04) (Los Angeles)
August 6, 2003 (2003-08-06) (United States)
Running time 97 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $26 million
Money made $160.8 million

Freaky Friday is a 2003 American fantasy-comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon, based on Mary Rodgers' 1972 novel of the same name. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter, respectively, whose bodies are switched by a mysterious and magical Chinese fortune cookie.

The film was released in theaters on August 6, 2003, by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Pictures. It received largely positive reviews from critics, with praise for Curtis and Lohan's performances, and earned over $160 million worldwide on a $26-million budget. The film also earned Curtis a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. It was Disney's third film adaptation of the novel, after the 1976 film, starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster, and the 1995 made-for-TV film, starring Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann.

Plot

Anna Coleman is an aspiring teenage musician who lives with her widowed therapist mother, Tess, and younger brother, Harry. Tess is about to marry her fiancé, Ryan, whom Anna has not entirely accepted due to her own father's death three years earlier.

At school, Anna's English teacher, Mr. Bates, treats her unfairly, giving her an F on every assignment regardless of how hard she tries, and she is feuding with Stacey, her former best friend-turned-nemesis. Anna has a crush on a school staff member, Jake, of whom her mother disapproves. Anna plays guitar in a band, Pink Slip, which is scheduled to audition for a gig at the House of Blues, the same night as the wedding rehearsal, so Tess forbids Anna from going. At a dinner at Pei-Pei's Chinese restaurant, mother and daughter get into a heated argument. Pei-Pei's mother interrupts their arguing to give them fortune cookies. They both read their fortunes out loud and immediately feel an intense earthquake that the rest of the restaurant is oblivious to.

The next morning, Anna and Tess wake up in each other's bodies. "Anna" (Tess in her daughter's body) has to go to school and begins to understand her daughter's woes. She recognizes Mr. Bates as an old high school classmate, who is picking on Anna because her mother once turned down his prom invitation years ago, and threatens to report him to the school board unless he ceases his unfair treatment. Meanwhile, "Tess", after giving her new body a makeover, has difficulty handling the patients. At lunchtime, "Anna" and "Tess" return to the restaurant but Pei-Pei explains that only showing selfless love for each other will cause the switch to be reversed.

"Tess" attends Harry's parent-teacher conference, where she reads a composition about how much he actually admires Anna, and decides to be nicer to him. "Anna" attempts to make amends with Stacey, but Stacey frames her for cheating on a test and “Anna” gets sent to detention. When Jake notices “Anna” sneaking out of detention he offers to help her finish the test. Jake takes “Anna” to the file room in the teachers lounge and she realizes that she misjudged him, but he loses his enamoration towards "Anna" after she sabotages Stacey's test by erasing most of the answers and writing "I'M STUPID!" on it. Ryan surprises "Tess" with a talk show interview to discuss her latest psychology book. To disguise the fact that she hasn't read the book, "Tess" goes into an amusing tirade about getting older. "Anna" and Jake watch the interview on television and while she is embarrassed, he is impressed. "Tess" bumps into Jake at his second job, a coffee shop, and they bond over their favorite music.

At the rehearsal dinner, Anna's bandmates try to convince "Anna" to sneak off to the audition, but they are caught by security. Ryan surprisingly gives "Anna" permission to go, explaining that he just wants the kids to accept him, and urges "Tess" to go support the band, finally winning her over. Since "Anna" cannot play, "Tess" plays the guitar backstage while "Anna" only pretends to play. Realizing the fun of her daughter's music, "Anna" promises to treat her daughter's band with more respect, and during the show, Jake becomes enamored with "Anna" again upon seeing her perform.

Back at the rehearsal dinner, "Anna" tells "Tess" to ask Ryan to postpone the wedding, so that her daughter will not have to marry him in her mother's body. Instead, "Tess" proposes a toast, finally accepting Ryan because of how happy he makes her mom. This act of selfless love switches back Anna and Tess' bodies. Tess and Ryan later marry, she and Anna finally make up, and Anna and Jake start dating with Tess's approval.

At the wedding, Pei-Pei notices her mother offering Anna’s Grandfather, Alan, and Harry two fortune cookies after seeing them argue. She immediately rushes and tackles them both, and sighs in relief to have the cookies in her hands. In the credits, Anna is playing with her band at Ryan and Tess' wedding.

Cast

Initially, producer Andrew Gunn had hoped that Jodie Foster, who played Annabel in the original 1976 film, would be interested in the role of the mother. Foster declined, citing concerns that her stunt casting would draw attention away from other elements of the movie. Jamie Lee Curtis was offered the role of Tess at the last minute, after Annette Bening dropped out for undisclosed reasons four days before filming began. Kelly Osbourne was originally set to play Maddie, but withdrew when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She was replaced by Christina Vidal.

Marc McClure, who played Annabel's love interest in the 1976 film, makes a brief cameo as Boris the delivery man. The snapshots in the opening credits are photos of Curtis and her daughter, Annie Guest. In the final scene, Dina Lohan, Lindsay Lohan’s mother and manager, makes an appearance as one of the wedding guests. Director Mark Waters also has a cameo holding a baby at the wedding.

Soundtrack

Main page: Freaky Friday (soundtrack)

The orchestral score was written by Rolfe Kent and orchestrated by Tony Blondal.

Lohan also recorded a song for the soundtrack, titled "Ultimate".

Awards and nominations

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Freaky Friday (película de 2003) para niños

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