“Freakier Friday” makes a good case for sequel mania.
The body-swap comedy — a followup to the 2003 version of “Freaky Friday,” (not to be confused with the 1976 edition) — received overwhelmingly positive critics reviews for a sequel arriving more than two decades after the original.
“It’s still sweet, it’s still funny, it’s still freaky, and it’s still Friday. Thank God,” aplauded TheWrap.
Still, “Freakier Friday” could not entirely escape the recurring complaint about sequels — the follow-up story is not as good as the original.
“As in all such sequels, some form of doubling down on the original premise was inevitable. But more in this context isn’t necessarily more: if anything, it dilutes the formula,” panned the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Daily Beast said the movie is, “no novel reinvention,” but noted that “it’s cute enough to at least partially overcome its strained and uneven structure.”
The sequel reunites its original stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan and expands with new cast members Manny Jacinto, Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
For a second time, Tess (Curtis) and Anna (Lohan) get swindled into a body-swap experience, but this time it is twice as freaky as Anna’s daughter (Butters) and soon-to-be stepdaughter (Hammons) are also pulled into the mix.
Critics praised the entire cast for their lively performances, particularly Curtis for engaging audiences with her humor.
“As before, the chief draw is Curtis, who once again earns big laughs from the absurdity of a teenager stuck inside a 60-something body,” lauded the San Francisco Chronicle.
And The Guardian wrote, “It’s Curtis who embodies the story’s wacky spirit.”
Critic reviews of ‘Freakier Friday’
Early reviews for “Freakier Friday” were mostly positive. The sequel boasts a 74% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes, but critics still aired a few complaints about the follow-up film.
Here is what some critics are saying about “Freakier Friday.”
- “I laughed, I cried, and I immediately planned to add it to a comfort movie rotation,” applauds the London Evening Standard.
- “There are almost endless holes you could pick in its logic and storytelling, but it gives you few reasons to want to,” Time Out notes. “This Friday’s freakier, but it’s kind of … funner too."
- The Los Angeles Times wrote, “The old crank in me wished that I laughed harder than I did.”
- “I think I would have preferred a shot-for-shot remake to this painfully stretched cash-grab,” griped The Hollywood Reporter.
- According to Variety, the sequel “winds up being rather touching,” and “scores as skewed Disney family fairy tale.”
- “There is a strain to it all,” criticizes the Chicago Tribune, adding, “Doubling the bodies swapped ends up feeling like six times the chaos, not two.”
- “It is truly a generational epic, but what worked once, twice, three times (and maybe four) still delivers on the premise, providing laughs, plenty of slapstick opps and genuine emotion,” praises Deadline.
Fan reviews of ‘Freakier Friday’
Fans who saw “Freakier Friday” praise the film for bringing back the Curtis-Lohan duo and staying true to the spirit of the original film. The movie has a 94% positive score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here is what some viewers are saying about “Freakier Friday.”
When does ‘Freakier Friday’ come out?
“Freakier Friday” premieres in theaters on Friday, Aug. 8. It is rated PG.