I recently ordered an extra large pill organizer from Amazon. I had outgrown the standard-sized weekly pill organizer and needed larger compartments to fit the gigantic magnesium and fiber capsules I take every morning, in addition to a handful of other supplements I take daily to keep my body functioning at an optimal level. Or at least make me think my body is functioning at an optimal level.
The description for the extra large weekly pill organizer reads, “Perfect for seniors or arthritic patients,” which was a glimpse at my own mortality I wasn’t quite prepared for. I swear last week I was roller-skating with my neighborhood friends, and now, here I am, wondering if everyone my age has knees that hurt most of the time.
So it’s no surprise, really, that I found myself identifying with the “old” people while watching “Freakier Friday” with my children over the weekend. The movie hit streaming on Nov. 12 and I finally got around to watching it with my daughters, who had already seen it twice in the theater. I watched it mostly to humor them, but found myself delighted and entertained for the entirety of the run time.
“Freakier Friday” reunites Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, who play mother and daughter, respectively, and features two new characters — the daughter of Lindsay Lohan’s character and the daughter of the man engaged to Lindsay Lohan’s character. Much like in the first movie, the story centers around a body-switch plot, but this time it involves all four of the female leads. Lindsay Lohan and her daughter switch bodies and Jamie Lee Curtis and the fiance’s daughter switch. Don’t think about it too hard. It’s not that deep. The most important thing to know is that older and younger women switch bodies in the film and, naturally, a number of jokes about the aging process follow.
I laughed out loud at a line about Jamie Lee Curtis not having eaten real dairy since the Bush administration. My younger daughter asked, “What’s so funny?” And I didn’t know how to explain why it’s humorous that I, too, need to be careful with dairy because my body doesn’t digest like it used to. It’s a joke that I absolutely would not have understood 20 years ago.
In fact, I saw “Freaky Friday” 22 years ago in the theater with my mom, in 2003, when I was 17 years old. At that time I identified most with Lindsay Lohan’s character, who was in high school and navigating teen relationships. Neither the character nor I had to give a single thought as to whether or not I could tolerate milk products.
Life, as they say, comes at you fast.
This is not the first time I’ve experienced this shift in generational loyalties. Every once in a while I’ll rewatch the entire “Gilmore Girls” catalog. The show premiered in 2000, when I was a freshman in high school, and I felt like a contemporary of the character Rory Gilmore who, too, was in high school.
While watching the show when it originally aired, I would always side with Rory in her arguments with her mother Lorelai, and especially in her arguments with her grandmother Emily. Every choice Rory made made perfect sense to me, including the boys she dated, the education she pursued and her career ambitions.
Ten(ish) years later, I rewatched the show while I was pregnant with my second child and was shocked to find that that time, watching as a mother, I rarely sided with Rory and instead most often sided with her mother Lorelai. When Rory began dating the very cute and very rebellious Jess the first time, I, too, fell in love with those mysterious brown eyes. But on second watch, I was repulsed by Jess’ defiance of authority, appalled by Rory’s decision to reunite with Dean, and dismayed when she temporarily dropped out of Yale. I empathized with Lorelai, who had to walk a fine line between parent and friend. I wondered what I would do if my children made the same oft-times foolish choices Rory made.
Then, I rewatched again last year, another 10 years later, and was floored to find that I identified not with Rory, not with Lorelai, but with Emily, THE GRANDMOTHER, who is, sure, a little snobbish at times, but generally the most sensible in any given situation. I admired the way she held her own with her headstrong daughter and sometimes selfish granddaughter. I even tried to track down a sweater she wore in one episode so I could buy it online.
I am, on the one hand, horrified by the swiftness with which I seem to have arrived at my “kids these days” era. But on the other, I’m delighted to have gained the wisdom of living through these various stages of life I’ve seen mirrored on screen. I would never go back, but I also wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.
I don’t think it’s too big of a spoiler to tell you that, at the end of “Freakier Friday,” each character is returned to their correct body. And they are all greatly relieved. Even if, for the older characters, it means ordering extra large pill organizers and avoiding dairy. They’ve earned their age and are happy to live it.
I hope we’re all so lucky. Especially my daughters, who maybe one day will watch “Freakiest Friday” and laugh at the jokes they never would have 20 years ago while their daughters ask, “What’s so funny?”