Tag: ChadMichaelMurray

Freakier Friday

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

Twenty two years ago, Anna (Lindsay Lohan) and Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) swapped bodies. Now Anna has become just like her mom and is trying to raise her teenage daughter Harper (Julia Butters). When Anna falls in love with Eric (Manny Jacinto) and the two decide to get married, Harper is less than thrilled. Eric has a daughter named Lily (Sophia Hammons) and the two girls cannot stand each other. After an encounter with a physic at Anna’s bachelorette party, history ends up repeating itself.

Twelve year old me loved the original Freaky Friday back in 2003. Not only did I see it more than once in the cinema, I wore out that VHS tape! I knew each line and all the song lyrics. I wanted to be Lindsay Lohan and I was in love with Chad Michael Murray. Upon my rewatch I was pleased to see that it still holds up. While news of the sequel was no surprise, I didn’t think it was necessary. What did surprise me was how much I enjoyed it!

It felt like no time had passed with Lohan and Curtis reprising their iconic roles. You can tell that they are having the time of their lives. Playing teenagers made for some hilarious hijinks. I was in absolute stitches at the scene where Harper as Anna is taking to Anna’s former flame Jake (Chad Michael Murray) in the record shop. Butters and Hammons are welcome additions who mix things up. They had just as much fun eating junk food and zipping around LA on scooters.

Plenty of other familiar faces have returned as well. It was so nice to see the likes of Mark Harmon as Ryan, Lucille Soong as Grandma Chiang and Rosalind Chao as Mama P., Ryan Malgarini as Harry and Stephen Tobolowsky as Mr. Bates again. Pink Slip is back too with Christina Vidal and Haley Hudson as Maddie and Peg giving yet another brilliant performance of Take Me Away. In fact, there are so many little easter eggs scattered throughout that makes it so much fun.

I was not expecting to get so in my feels. Not only did the film once again focus on mother daughter relationships, it also threw in themes of found family, loss, grief and acceptance. Lily losing her mother hit too close to home and I sympathised with her for not wanting to open her heart up again. On the other hand, Anna and Harper on stage in the final act almost had me full on sobbing. If you know you know.

Overall, Freaky Friday did not need a sequel, but I’m glad they made one. Fans of the original will be happy while newcomers will be able to fall in love with the franchise right away. Lohan and Curtis are in top form while the Butter and Hammons are worthy additions. Somehow Disney was able to completely up the stakes making for another brilliant outing.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️.5

The Merry Gentlemen

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

Netflix has been really delivering with their Christmas movie offerings this year! Up next on the rota is The Merry Gentlemen. Ashley (Britt Robertson) comes home with her tail between her legs after she’s let go from her job as a Jingle Belle. When she discovers that her parents’ (Michael Gross and Beth Broderick) performing venue is struggling, she decides to stage an all male revue. With the holidays coming up, she is hoping she’ll be able to raise enough money so that business woman Denise (Maria Canals-Barrera) doesn’t replace it with a juice bar.

When I heard that Chad Michael Murray was starring in a knock off version of Magic Mike, I thought sign me up! He’s been a heartthrob since his One Tree Hill days and though he’s not as prominent in the industry anymore, I still like seeing him on my screen. Robertson is someone else who I’ve been familiar with for a while having seen her in many TV shows and films growing up. While I didn’t totally buy the chemistry between the two, I did root for them by the end.

I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t completely invested in the film at the beginning. Though there was a short run time and it didn’t take too long for things to get to going, I would have liked a little bit more background on some of the characters or some extra scenes here and there to really make me care. Unlike Hot Frosty I didn’t feel like this one had much substance.

That being said, I was totally sold on the musical sequences. Another one of the members, Troy (Colt Prattes) has a dancing background and you could tell. I liked how each night was dedicated to a particular theme and it didn’t hurt that they were all good looking.

Overall, The Merry Gentlemen was a fun film. I think I was looking forward to it more than I actually ended up liking it, but that’s okay. It still provided me with the right amount of entertainment.

Rating: ♥️♥️