{"id":1963987,"date":"2025-08-16T14:01:57","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T14:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1963987"},"modified":"2025-08-16T14:01:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T14:01:57","slug":"i-took-3-kids-and-my-70-something-mom-to-see-freakier-friday-no-one-laughed-harder-than-grandma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/i-took-3-kids-and-my-70-something-mom-to-see-freakier-friday-no-one-laughed-harder-than-grandma\/","title":{"rendered":"I took 3 kids and my 70-something mom to see &#8216;Freakier Friday.&#8217; No one laughed harder than grandma."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\" data-jump-link-target=\"\" id=\"this-story-contains-spoilers-dont-say-we-didnt-warn-ya\"><strong>This story contains spoilers. Don\u2019t say we didn\u2019t warn ya.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Hello, Yahoo readers. I\u2019m Suzy Byrne, and I\u2019ve been covering entertainment in this space for over a decade.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>I\u2019ll be the first to tell you I\u2019m no hardcore cinema buff. Since I had a child, though, I\u2019ve made it a point to see as many kid-friendly movies as possible. Maybe it\u2019s because I\u2019m a big kid \u2714 and love a cheerful ending \u2714. But also, as a busy working parent, getting two hours to turn off my phone, put up my feet and eat whatever I want while my child is fully entertained is the definition of movie magic.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>So that\u2019s what this is \u2014 one entertainment reporter + her 10-year-old child + friends seeing family-friendly fare and replying all to you about the experience. <\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tagged\/kids-movie-club\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:Welcome to Kids' Movie Club.;cpos:1;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Welcome to Kids&#8217; Movie Club.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\" data-jump-link-target=\"\" id=\"now-playing-freakier-friday\"><strong>Now playing: <\/strong><strong><em>Freakier Friday<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The adults outnumbered the kids six to three for our family movie trip, which should clue you in that nostalgia was the real star of the <em>Freaky Friday<\/em> sequel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">That said, when we walked into the theater, someone in our group admitted, \u201cI don\u2019t think I even watched <em>Freaky Friday<\/em>\u201d<em>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 and it turns out they weren\u2019t alone. Seeing the 2003 original definitely adds context, but our crew \u2014 which spanned three generations and two continents (my sister\u2019s family was visiting from Australia) \u2014 felt the sequel stood on its own just fine without revisiting its predecessor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Jamie Lee Curtis stole the show, especially with my 70-something mom, who guffawed at every senior citizen joke like it was written for her. Lindsay Lohan was like a fast-forwarded version of her younger self; she had the same cadence, delivery and spark. The PG-rated movie isn\u2019t chasing Oscars, though; it\u2019s chasing laughs and delivers enough of them. With a mix of punchlines about aging and early 2000s nods, it knows exactly who it\u2019s playing to.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Maybe because it felt a little <em>old school<\/em> to the 10-year-olds among us, <em>Freakier Friday<\/em> was a harder sell to the kids than the other movies we\u2019ve seen this summer. I had to promise to take them to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.catvideofest.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cat Video Fest;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Cat Video Fest<\/a><em>\u00a0<\/em>first (yes, two hours of cat videos) in exchange for them seeing this. Apparently, they don\u2019t hold LiLo in their Y2K hearts the way I do.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>The plot \ud83c\udfac<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Like in the first film, <em>Freakier Friday<\/em> has body-swap chaos, but this time it\u2019s not just two people in the mix, it\u2019s four: Tess (Curtis), her daughter Anna (Lohan), Anna\u2019s daughter Harper (Julia Butters) and Anna\u2019s soon-to-be stepdaughter Lily (Sophia Hammons).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Everyone in my group was confused trying to keep track of who was in whose body. We could have used some good old-fashioned <em>Pop Up Video<\/em> captions \u2014 \u201cLily is in Tess\u2019s body\u201d \u2014 just to stay on track.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Saturday Night Live<\/em> alum Vanessa Bayer has a scene-stealing role in the magical mix-up. From there, most of the film is the four women working to undo the switcheroo while stepping into each other\u2019s very different lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Meanwhile, teens Harper and Lily are on a mission to sabotage Anna\u2019s wedding to Lily\u2019s dad Eric (Manny Jacinto), which adds another layer of chaos and comedy to the generational tension and family drama. But naturally, the heart of the film is about walking a mile in someone else\u2019s shoes \u2014 and learning something along the way.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Harper (Julia Butters), Anna (Lindsay Lohan), Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Lily (Sophia Hammons) switch bodies, making it a little confusing to follow at times but still wacky fun. (Disney)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>Parts that had the kids talking \ud83d\udc67\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc67\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc66\ud83c\udffb<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Again, the trio of cousins preferred the cat videos to <em>Freakier Friday<\/em>. After the movie, they were talking about cats. And none of them begged to watch <em>Freaky Friday<\/em> when we got home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The real highlight for them? The snacks. And the mix-up. In what felt like our own <em>Freakier Friday<\/em> moment, our server kept bringing us food we hadn\u2019t ordered \u2014 and couldn\u2019t take back. A large popcorn somehow turned into three small ones. Three drinks multiplied to eight. The kids were giggling about it for half the movie. So if Madame Jen had a hand in that little magic trick, thanks.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>Parts that had the adults talking \ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc71\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83d\ude4e\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\ud83d\udc75\ud83c\udffb<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Curtis could do no wrong. Whether the therapist turned author Tess was playing pickleball, shopping for senior care items, gushing about her love of Parcheesi or getting her lips plumped, she had us laughing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It was all about the old-age jokes. When they first changed bodies, the zingers came fast: \u201cI\u2019m bloody decomposing!\u201d My \u201cbutt is so high!\u201d \u201cMy face looks like a Birkin bag left out in the sun to rot.\u201d What the film lacked in plot, it made up for in one-liners about adult diapers, Fixodent, toots, enemas and the giant letter virus that is older people using the oversize font setting on their iPhones, like grandma.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Lindsay Lohan, left, and Chad Michael Murray. \" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"639\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/WfvH_yZOup205Eb43TYUsw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzOTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-08\/28968a00-7a1d-11f0-ad61-58b6a2a3c058\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Chad Michael Murray returns as Anna&#8217;s ex Jake. (Disney)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The parents weren\u2019t spared, either. There were jokes about Coldplay and John Mayer \u2014 what we grew up on \u2014 as being dated. Not to mention Facebook being a \u201cdatabase of old people.\u201d (Hold on while I delete my account.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The women were the stars of the show, but the men held their own. Jacinto doing <em>Dirty Dancing<\/em> was a great moment. I also found myself staring at Chad Michael Murray\u2019s hair (he\u2019s back as Anna\u2019s ex, Jake) and wondered what he\u2019s doing to keep it so shiny. Meanwhile, Mark Harmon\u2019s return \u2014 with a full head of white hair \u2014 was shocking in the best way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Of course, the movie had its tropes \u2014 the future stepsisters who hate each other, the dead mom and the very soap opera way Eric called off the wedding in a room full of people vs. a side conversation with Anna. But the confetti-filled, crowd-surfing reconciliation scene? I ate it up.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>Dumb things I searched after the movie \ud83d\udcbb<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I don\u2019t surf. I don\u2019t live near the beach. But that didn\u2019t stop me from Googling how to get the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/jamie-lee-curtis-lindsay-lohan-141509094.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:floral wetsuit Lohan wore;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">floral wetsuit Lohan wore<\/a>. (It\u2019s Cynthia Rowley. Yes, I still want it and, no, I don\u2019t need it.)<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>Stay for the credits? \ud83c\udf9e\ufe0f<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Yes, it\u2019s cute with a lot of funny outtakes, like Curtis biting into 34 donuts to get a scene just right. There\u2019s also some cheeky fourth-wall breaking.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\"><strong>Trailers \ud83c\udfa5<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">My daughter is counting down the days until<em> Zootopia 2<\/em>, but I also got, \u201cCan we see that?\u201d for films targeting older audiences \u2014 <em>A Big Bold Beautiful Journey<\/em> and <em>Regretting You.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It made me wonder: Are we aging out of the kids\u2019 movies? Maybe, but I hope we never outgrow watching them together, especially as a family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Looking for more recs? <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/films\/best-movies\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100;cpos:4;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong>Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100<\/strong><\/a><strong>, our daily updating list of the most popular movies of the year.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This story contains spoilers. Don\u2019t say we didn\u2019t warn ya. Hello, Yahoo readers. I\u2019m Suzy Byrne, and I\u2019ve been covering entertainment in this space for over a decade. I\u2019ll be the first to tell you I\u2019m no hardcore cinema buff. Since I had a child, though, I\u2019ve made it a point to see as many [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1963988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[346858,346857,326300,326163,28308,324126,23209,338564,339243],"class_list":["post-1963987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-annelise-capossela","tag-disney-studios","tag-freakier-friday","tag-freaky-friday","tag-jamie-lee-curtis","tag-julia-butters","tag-lindsay-lohan","tag-manny-jacinto","tag-sophia-hammons"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/I-took-3-kids-and-my-70-something-mom-to-see.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1963987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1963987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1963987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1963988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1963987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1963987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1963987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}