“Freakier Friday” fills NP with hometown pride
Filled to the brim with chaotic action, quick wit and relatable characters, “Freakier Friday” charms audiences of all generations, and leaves Newbury Park residents beaming with pride for their hometown. As the long-awaited sequel to the 2003 classic “Freaky Friday,” the movie perfected the tedious art of paralleling, yet not reusing a cherished storyline.
Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis captivate the audience in their return to play Anna Coleman and her mother Tess. As Anna struggles to connect with her daughter Harper (Julia Butters), tensions rise between Harper and her arch-enemy Lily (Sophia Hammons) when Anna gets engaged to Lily’s father Eric (Manny Jacinto). Mirroring the first movie’s synopsis, Harper and Lily meet a fortune teller and swap bodies with Anna and Tess, addressing the question, “What would it be like to walk in someone else’s shoes?”
Lohan and Curtis slipped into their old roles with ease, with Anna and Tess transporting audiences back to an era of rock music and low-rise jeans. Both individuals revealed immense character development, creating a smooth transition between films. Most prominently, the pair did an impeccable job of embodying not just the language but the spirits of Gen Z teenagers. As a teenage girl myself, I found the independence-hungry and defiant characteristics of the two actresses to be on point; with the exception of their lack of social awareness, which contributed to the movie’s timeless comedy.
Reprising his role as the teenage heart-throb Jake Austin, Chad Michael Murray’s appearance was a nostalgia-evoking piece that the film would not have been complete without. I found it pleasantly ironic that Eric and Jake, despite being the two main love interests, were quite unproblematic and harbored no jealousy towards each other; instead united in bewilderment about the girls’ bizarre actions. I was further refreshed by Eric’s emotional intelligence, which created a rare representation of a healthy relationship in media.
With Mt. Boney framing the football stadium and the campus transformed into a temporary movie set, several major scenes of “Freakier Friday” were filmed at Newbury Park High School. To achieve the look of the characters living a stereotypical So-Cal lifestyle, the school sign was replaced by the vibrant words “Sunset Ridge High School,” and our iconic gold and black “Panther” colors swapped in for “Dolphin” blue and gold. Witnessing my school’s campus as the setting for an iconic rom-com movie felt like a full-circle moment and will no doubt encourage me to romanticize my life as a high schooler. It was surreal to see big stars sitting in the very classrooms I live in five days a week, and surprisingly helped me to put into perspective how lucky I am to go to a picture-perfect high school; even if the editors had to CGI in fake grass and clean lockers for a few shots.
If one can withstand the knuckle-whitening second-hand embarrassment and a heavy dose of quick wit, “Freakier Friday” is a gem that all demographics can enjoy. The characters span multiple generations, contributing to the movie’s relatable humor. From the clashing personalities of a So-Cal surfer and London fashionista, to a woman learning to balance her career with motherhood, and a grandmother helping her daughter navigate being a single mom, there is something that each generation can relate to, reminisce on or learn to look forward to.
