Ron Does Stuff

I was a literal student when I watched Freaky Friday. Imagine that. But even if it’s been literal decades since it was on the big screen, there are still bits and pieces of it that have remained not just in my head, but in pop culture. That gif of Jamie Lee Curtis saying she’s the crypt keeper still gets used a lot online.

Now that we’ve got a sequel, will it have as much staying power as the first one?

In Freakier Friday, we once again follow Tess and Anna, the characters Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan played in the earlier film. Since it’s been two decades since we last saw them, there’s been some changes. Tess is past middle age and is now a grandma, while Anna has abandoned her band and is now a single mother to her daughter, Harper.

When Anna literally bumps into Eric Reyes, her life is changed once more as she falls in love and now has a soon-to-be stepdaughter, Lily. But when the blending of these two families doesn’t go as smoothly as Anna wants, a “multi-hyphenate” fortune-teller gives the four of them — Tess, Anna, Harper, and Lily — a chance to make it right by switching their bodies. But will it work again, this time around?

Before I talk about the movie, I want to share that I got to watch it ahead of everyone yesterday thanks to an invitation from the PR company handling the premiere here in the Philippines. They had a fun event with fans where Manny Jacinto was in attendance!

Now what about the movie? Let’s be honest here. Freakier Friday is basically just Freaky Friday with more people added to it. Every part of the movie progresses in much the same way Freaky Friday did, with the jokes still the same and the resolution to the conflict still the same. It doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel. But to paraphrase esteemed philosopher RuPaul, why reinvent the wheel when it’s working perfectly well?

Even if I knew the jokes were coming, they were still funny. And any predictability in the plot was offset by how charming the cast is. Lindsay Lohan? She’s never looked so beautiful and that whole scene with Chad Michael Murray where she’s trying to ~seduce~ him except the person in her body is her daughter Harper? Hilarious. Chad Michael Murray in those tight shirts and the hints that his character is into older women? Also hilarious.

Manny Jacinto? My Filipino bias aside, he really was a spectacular male lead in this. Him being handsome goes without saying, but to hear him be handsome and charming with a British accent? Delicious. I need film producers to get their act together and cast Manny in a full-on romantic comedy because that man is ready and willing and able.

Also did I mention he’s handsome?

I’m sure you guys don’t mind the repetitive poses.