Freaky Friday

Halloween scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis and current Disney remake princess Lindsay Lohan (The Parent Trap) make this update of the 1977 comedy really sizzle at times. A working mother and her punk rocker daughter weirdly switch bodies, sending Mom to school to deal with her daughter’s peers and new motorcycle-driving boyfriend and leaving the young lady to deal with her mom’s square fashion look and next-day wedding. The film is weakened by the mischief of a young brother who is too cutely precocious to digest and by a doddering grandfather whose hearing comes and goes depending on the demands of the script rather than common sense. The two featured females offset these distractions by having so much apparent fun that it becomes contagious, and the soundtrack actually rocks with tunes from the likes of Simple Plan, the Donnas and Joey Ramone. The film was directed by Mark Waters (The House of Yes).