Twenty-two years after they switched bodies for a day, mother and daughter Tess and Anna find themselves in a similar, but bigger, situation in the fluffy, fun legacy sequel Freakier Friday, directed by Nisha Ganatra.
The 2003 Freaky Friday, starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, was the third film officially based on the 1972 Mary Rodgers novel (along with many non-official versions such as Vice Versa, Like Father Like Son, or the horror-comedy version, Freaky). The swapping of teenage Anna and 40-something Tess was a family film romp and total joy to watch, especially with Jamie Lee Curtis having a total blast. It’s held up remarkably well (outside of one racial thing that was cringe at the time, to be honest).
Now, in 2025, Freaky Friday receives its legacy sequel, written by Jordan Weiss & Elyse Hollander, and directed by Nisha Ganatra. It does as legacies do: picks up the character a few decades later, stuffs the film full of callbacks, and essentially repeats the plot with a wrinkle. The wrinkle: more body swaps! Not only are Anna and Tess swapped around, Freakier Friday adds Anna’s teenage daughter, Harper, and Harper’s enemy, Lily. They are all on edge as Anna is about to marry Lily’s dad, and the girls do not approve of the pairing. On the eve of the wedding, generations switch (Anna and her daughter, Tess and Lily). Once again, farcical hijinks ensue as the switched try to get what they want without letting the world know they aren’t who they were yesterday, characters grow, conflicts are resolved, and the actors are allowed to have fun playing all of it. Freakier Friday is a ton of fun, with just enough pathos to make work without becoming smaltzy, and keen performances to bring it through.
I’ll admit, Freakier Friday has a rough start that had me concerned. The first thirty minutes of setting up all the conflicts, characters, and moments to be paid off later are very awkward. There’s a lot to shove in: Lindsay Lohan’s Anna is about to marry The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto. (The pair has great screen chemistry) On the same weekend, the singer she manages, Ella, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan from the great Netflix show Never Have I Ever, launches her big concert series. (Anna’s band from the first film did hit big, but she quit to focus on motherhood.) Harper and Lily, rivals at school, are shoved together by their parents’ romance and want nothing more than to end the wedding and go their own ways. Tess, still Jamie Lee Curtis, is very supportive of Anna and Harper. She doesn’t have a personal conflict besides wanting everyone to be happy. All the dialogue in this section is rather on-the-nose, oddly performed (often by obvious ADR), and the movie rushes through with obvious joke/punchlines. It almost felt straight to Disney+. Concerning, but all for naught as the rest works.
Eventually, the switch happens. Thankfully, by accident from a funny Vanessa Beyer, rather than a Magical Minority. While the opening stumbles, after the women all get switched up, Freakier Friday takes off at a run. Director Ganatra keeps all the pieces moving smoothly; she has a history of working with ensembles, and it shows. She jumps between the variety of storylines as each set (occasionally switched up so every pair combination gets their moments) sets out on their day. She wrangles her actors well, gaining game performances from the quartet and the supporting characters. Each of the four has levels to play. Of course, that’s the fun of body swap movies, watching actors jump into playing big, aping mannerisms, going for the physical bits of being another person. Ganatra keeps it all together, keeping it straight who’s who.
Like the last time, Jamie Lee Curtis is having the time of her life. But when isn’t she giving everything with spirited performances? Since Halloween, she’s always knocked it out of the park; often being the best thing in whatever she’s in (looking at you, Christmas with Cranks. Ugh). But Lohan is allowed to break out, and does so very well. She’s often been the straight to the silly around her, so it’s nice to see what she’s capable of. She’s always been a great actress, but the ups and downs off camera have often overtaken any conversation about her (and here’s where I’ll leave it). Curtis and Lohan bounce off each other very well with the interpersonal and physical comedy, with the timing of long-established comedy duos. Julia Butters and Sophia Hammons shine as the teenagers. They do most of the emotional heavy lifting and give more grounded takes, but they are playing the older generation after all. They spend a decent chunk of the movie sidelined as Lohan and Curtis have their adventures, but it’s okay to have a balance and not be too much. 
Building on the physical fun, the emotional gravity is larger than I expected. Of course, there is standard “understand the other person’s point of view” messaging. However, there is a solid amount of pathos about motherhood, loss, and moving on. Being a person is complicated, especially on the edge of big changes; some in our control and some not, and how we deal with it. Ganatra lets these moments play without cutting in with a zing outside of the humor of who is delivering it, allowing resonance (then comes a punchline).
As to be expected, there are plenty of call-backs, repeated scenes, returning characters, and directly lifted jokes. For once, they don’t cringe, working in most cases. I particularly enjoyed seeing Steven Tobolowsky again. But I always do. In a fun touch, there are numerous Easter eggs to other Lindsay Lohan films outside of Freaky Friday. My wife and I had fun pointing them out to each other. The I Know Who Killed Me arm amputation was a bit of a stretch, though. I kid, of course… it was tastefully done. (/s)
Even divorced from the source, Freakier Friday is a funny, fine family flick. The main quartet delivers continually hilarious physical performances, and it’s clear it was a fun time for all and will be for the viewer. I do feel much of it will slip out of my brain sooner rather than later, so there is a little fluff feeling. I had a great time watching it, once the unsteady start gets settled. Bring on Freakiest Friday! Just don’t make me wait 22 years.
PS – Freakier Friday has credit bloopers! I miss those.