The bodyswap comedy gets raised to the fourth power with hilarious and touching results. Freakier Friday review: Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan deliver the

The body-swap comedy gets raised to the fourth power with hilarious and touching results.

Freakier Friday review: Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan deliver the sequel millennials deserve

The body-swap comedy gets raised to the fourth power with hilarious and touching results.

By Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at ** with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, *Ms. Magazine*, *The Hollywood Reporter*, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, *It Happened One Fight*, is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

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Published on August 5, 2025 12:00PM EDT

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Andrew Eccles/Disney

For a generation of millennials and their moms, *Freaky Friday *was it, the ultimate.

The beloved body swap comedy, which has been remade several times since 1976's rendition starring Jodie Foster, tapped into the zeitgeist with its 2003 iteration starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Ask any woman in their thirties how many times they jammed out to Pink Slip in their mom's minivan or rewatched a clip of Chad Michael Murray singing Britney Spears in a suburban front yard.

With that verdant fan base, it was probably inevitable that Disney would get the gang back together for a sequel, which has finally materialized with *Freakier Friday *some 20-plus years later. Just as the first film surprised and charmed with its heart, zippy sense of humor, and standout lead performances, *Freakier Friday *recaptures and strengthens the magic. With Nisha Ganatra (*Late Night*) taking over for Mark Waters (*Mean Girls*) in the director's chair, the sequel finds ways to freshen up the antics of the first film while providing plenty of callbacks for the original fans.

Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in 'Freakier Friday'.

Glen Wilson/Disney

Twenty-two years after the events of the first film, Anna (Lohan) is a single mom, struggling to balance her job as a music manager and parenting her teenage daughter Harper (Julia Butters). She gets plenty of back-up from her mom, Tess (Curtis), who has channeled her success as a therapist into a podcast, a book, and a mostly well-adjusted thirty-something daughter. But when Harper gets into a fight with the new kid at school, Lily (Sophia Hammons), it brings Anna into the path of single dad Eric (Manny Jacinto) — and one very adorable montage later, the two are setting a wedding date.

Julia Butters, Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Sophia Hammons in 'Freakier Friday'.

Glen Wilson/Disney

This is where the body-swapping comes (back) in, with bickering at Anna's bachelorette party (that apparently her mother, daughter, and future step-daughter are all invited to) leading to a quadruple swap. Anna trades bodies with Harper, and Tess switches with Lily. Ganatra and screenwriter Jordan Weiss find old truths and fresh takes within the simple setup that gets dizzyingly complicated quickly.

Mark Harmon and Jamie Lee Curtis in 'Freakier Friday'.

Glen Wilson/Disney

The age gap jokes may hit similar notes as the first film, but they're still hilarious in their brutal honesty — taking a loving swipe at everything from Facebook's aging demographic to Pickleball to an older white woman's predilection for puffer jackets (and pockets filled with tissues). Lily, stuck in Tess's body, bemoans the "crevices" in her face, her cracking knees, and the challenges of getting up off the floor past the age of 50. Such moments not only echo Curtis' "I'm old" screech in the original film but elevate it to a farcical, if still utterly real, level.

Anna is older now, too, adopting her mom's "Make good choices" school drop-off mantra, and struggling to figure out some of the intricacies of her phone's latest iOS. She now not only understands what her mom went through, but she's living it.

Julia Butters and Sophia Hammons in 'Freakier Friday'.

Glen Wilson/Disney

Harper and Lily are Gen Z teenagers, miles away from the rebellious rocker vibes of Lohan's teenage Anna (Harper is a tomboy surfer, while Lily is an aspiring fashion designer). The shifting values and vibes of different generations provide plenty of delicious fodder for Lohan and Curtis when they're meant to be playing the young girls trapped in their bodies. I think my body might have levitated after hearing Lohan use the word "bet" in a sentence (the entire sentence being "bet").

Butters and Hammons are warm and winning as older women trapped in their young bodies. They get plenty of wisecracks about having good bone density, and a goofy, frolicsome montage where they enjoy eating junk food their older bodies can no longer withstand.

Julia Butters and Sophia Hammons in 'Freakier Friday'.

Glen Wilson/Disney

However, the main event is seeing Lohan and Curtis reunited — and even better — together. Tess and Anna were often apart in the first film, fish out of water in opposing scenarios. But here, with Lily and Harper in their bodies, they team up, trying to upend the wedding of their dad and mom. Curtis, who worked for years to get a sequel green-lit, is clearly having the time of her life, mugging for the camera as inner-fashionista Lily, sporting a speech-inhibiting lip plumper, and taking a joy ride in a Camaro.

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But it's Lohan who is the film's heart and soul. For the first time since her return to acting in 2022's *Falling For Christmas, *Lohan looks like she's having fun. The ease, maturity, and comedic timing of her child star years are, at last, back in full force.

It's particularly on display in a gleeful sequence in which she, as Harper, attempts to flirt with Anna's old flame, Jake ( Murray), wildly flipping her hair, biting her lips, and winking as if Lucille Bluth taught her how to bat her eyes. It's comforting to see the Lohan spark restored, her joy in her work spilling off the screen with infectious zeal.

Lindsay Lohan and Chad MIchael Murray in 'Freakier Friday'.

Glen Wilson/Disney

The guys get their own chance to shine with Murray reprising the role of Jake, the motorcycle-riding bad boy who once stole Anna's heart (and in turn developed a crush on Tess). He infuses Jake with the same oblivious charm and golden retriever energy that made him so winning two decades ago. Mark Harmon also returns as Ryan, Tess' husband, ever steadfast and supportive of her whirling dervish personality.

Chad Michael Murray as Jake in 'Freakier Friday'.

Glen Wilson/Disney

It's lovely to see them back as these characters, but it's newcomer Manny Jacinto who gets the true spotlight. After breaking out on *The Good Place *and seducing us to the Dark Side as a smoldering Sith Daddy (#savetheacolyte), Jacinto is at long last getting his due as a romantic leading man. Adopting a British accent as widower Eric, he's dreamy in his devotion to Anna and his daughter Lily, the epitome of decency and paternal fortitude. He steals hearts (and the scene) with a dance sequence that embraces his hip-hop background, making us wish he were in more of the film.

Manny Jacinto and Lindsay Lohan in 'Freakier Friday'.

Glen Wilson/Disney

But at the end of the day, *Freakier Friday *is a movie about mothers and daughters, and now, sisters. Lee, Lohan, Hammons, and Butters are all performing sleight of hand in their deceptively difficult task of portraying their characters *and* other characters stuck in their bodies. Lee and Lohan, in particular, bring not only comedic aplomb to this challenge, but genuine pathos and emotion too, as they realize bigger truths about their parents through walking in their shoes.

Part of the joy of the viewing experience is unquestionably the callbacks to "Hit Me Baby One More Time" and the Pink Slip performance that we'll be feeling the high of for weeks to come. Shoutout also to songwriter Sarah Aarons for penning "Baby," a new soundtrack banger essential to the plot. There's even a *The Parent Trap *connection for all the Lohan fans.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in 'Freakier Friday'.

Glen Wilson/Disney

But what makes *Freakier Friday *so special is that amid the laugh-out-loud humor and welcome fan service, there's also a beautiful film here about parenting, coming-of-age, loneliness, grief, loss, and sacrifice. To be human is to experience the highs and lows of all that life has to offer, and to be a parent is to do so tenfold, with your heart beating outside your own body. *Freakier Friday *celebrates that and literalizes it, acknowledging the challenges acute to any age, as well as the foibles and perks of life's different seasons.

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******If the original film is about a mother and daughter coming to better understand each other, *Freakier Friday *throws its arms open to wrap them around the notion of family as a whole — the ways in which we show up for each other, make being together and being at home one and the same, and how to know that we're exactly where we belong. It's a heart-on-its-sleeve ode to strengthening and forging bonds, the power of deep and unconditional love, and the warmth and safety of one's chosen family, most especially when it's at its freakiest. **Grade: A-****

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