Two decades after their first swap shocked and delighted audiences, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan return in Freakier Friday, a high-energy sequel that doubles down on the magic, the mishaps, and the generational comedy. This time, it’s not just a mother and daughter trading places—it’s two sets of them, multiplying the confusion and the laughs.
The story catches up with Anna (Lohan), now a music manager and single mother, on the brink of marrying Eric (Manny Jacinto), a charming, grounded single dad. Their teenage daughters—Anna’s Harper (Julia Butters) and Eric’s Lily (Sophia Hammons)—are about as compatible as oil and water. Tensions simmer until a pre-wedding gathering takes a mystical turn, triggering another supernatural body-swap. Only this time, the magic shuffles Tess (Curtis) into Harper’s body, and Anna into Lily’s, creating a four-way identity scramble.
What follows is a comic relay race of misunderstandings, emotional revelations, and culture-clash moments. Tess, inhabiting a teenager’s body, dives headfirst into high school drama with wide-eyed bemusement and sharp-tongued wit, while Harper in Tess’s body wrestles with running a household and managing adult responsibilities she never knew were so exhausting. Meanwhile, Anna-as-Lily stumbles through the awkward hallways of teenhood, while Lily-as-Anna attempts to keep her future stepfather’s wedding plans from collapsing.
Jamie Lee Curtis once again proves she’s a master of physical comedy, turning Harper’s teen mannerisms into an art form without tipping into parody. She’s equally adept at finding the softer beats, letting glimpses of a grandmother’s love peek through the chaos. Lohan slips comfortably back into Anna’s skin, bringing maturity and a hint of weariness to a character whose life has been a balancing act between ambition and parenting. When she’s in a teenage body, she plays the mix of panic and thrill with just the right level of disbelief.
The younger cast members hold their own, particularly Julia Butters, who matches Curtis’s energy beat for beat in the role-reversal scenes. Sophia Hammons brings warmth and quiet humor, grounding the story whenever it risks becoming too frenetic. Manny Jacinto adds a likeable presence, navigating the bizarre behavior of his suddenly unrecognizable fiancée and future mother-in-law with patience and charm.
Visually, the film embraces bright, candy-colored set pieces that echo the original’s lighthearted tone, while updating the style for modern audiences. The school dance, wedding rehearsal, and a chaotic family dinner are staged with careful attention to detail, ensuring every character has a moment to shine amidst the overlapping subplots.
The humor is broad but effective—slapstick moments, mistaken identities, and a few sly callbacks to the first film keep the nostalgia alive. Yet the film also weaves in more reflective notes. Themes of empathy, perspective, and the challenge of blending families add emotional depth without becoming heavy-handed. The body-swap conceit becomes more than a comedic engine; it’s a way for characters to literally walk in each other’s shoes, learning firsthand what the other’s life feels like.
Where the film stumbles is in its pacing. With four characters swapped, the plot sometimes stretches itself thin, juggling multiple arcs that compete for attention. A few sequences feel more like filler than story, and the emotional payoffs occasionally arrive before they’ve been fully earned. Still, the chemistry between Curtis and Lohan is so natural that even the slower stretches remain watchable.
The final act builds to a double-layered climax: the wedding, teetering on the edge of collapse, and the race to undo the swap before vows are exchanged. It’s an energetic, slightly chaotic sequence that lands on the right side of sweet, tying up loose ends without overstaying its welcome. The resolution leaves the door open for another magical mishap, though it’s hard to imagine a premise more gleefully tangled than this one.
Freakier Friday works best when it leans into its core strengths: the infectious chemistry of its leads, the charm of watching seasoned actors play against type, and the universal appeal of seeing characters understand each other in unexpected ways. It’s a film that knows its audience wants a mix of heart and hijinks, and it delivers both in generous portions. Even if it doesn’t quite match the breezy perfection of its predecessor, it offers a warmly entertaining ride—proof that sometimes, a little magic is worth revisiting.
>
