Freakier Friday

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

Our Little Secret

It’s the most wonderful time of the year because Lindsay Lohan is back on our screens starring in another Christmas film. This time around she stars as Avery, a career driven woman who is spending the holidays with her boyfriend Cam (Jon Rudnitsky) and his family. What she doesn’t know is that her ex from ten years ago Logan (Ian Harding) is now dating Cassie (Katie Baker) who just so happens to be Cam’s sister and he’ll be joining in for the festivities. Instead of coming forward about their past relationship, they decide to keep it a secret.

Out of the slew of festive films that Netflix have released this year, this one has been my favorite. Lohan is in top form here; she’s so effortless in the romcom genre and she always delivers when it comes to comedy. I thought that Harding was a good choice for the role of Logan. The chemistry between the two of them was cute. I’ve always liked the friends to lovers trope and while they were mostly exes during the film, we got to see their relationship develop in a more mature way.

Among the rest of the cast were some familiar names like Tim Meadows and Judy Reyes who portray Stan and Margaret, family friends, respectively. The big scene stealer, however, was Kristin Chenoweth as Erica, Cam and Cassie’s mother. She was such a bitch, but that just made me love her more. You could tell that she was having the time of her life.

I found the film to be genuinely funny. The scene in the church and the one with the family dog particularly had me in stitches. They were just so over the top! But what I appreciated was the balance with Avery dealing with her mother’s sudden loss from a few years ago. It was something I could relate to and it added a deeper layer to the story.

Overall Our Little Secret was a cute little Christmas romcom. With a great cast, hilarious hijinks and a heartwarming love story, this is one that I will definitely revisit in the future.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Irish Wish

Lindsay Lohan is back in her second venture with Netflix. In Irish Wish, she stars as Maddie, a book editor who has been in love with her boss Paul (Alexander Vlahos) ever since they started working together. When Paul gets engaged to her best friend Emma (Elizabeth Tan), Maddie puts her feelings aside and travels to Ireland for the wedding. Before the big day, she makes a wish for true love and wakes up as the bride to be. But just because all of her dreams are starting to come true doesn’t mean they won’t come at a price.

Words cannot describe how happy I am to have Lohan back on the scene. Her comeback holiday hit Falling For Christmas proved that she never should have left in the first place and I have since been excited to see what she would do next. With her natural charm and comedic chops, Lohan effortlessly carries this film on her back.

Being torn between two men is no easy feat, but it is the chemistry between Lohan’s Maddie and Ed Speleers as nature photographer James that wins. From the very first moment they meet to the moments they spend together in the alternate reality, it is clear that our heroine is meant to be with him instead of Paul. Vlahos did a great job in making the audience dislike his character. In fact, the rest of the casting was pretty spot on as well with Ayesha Curry as Maddie’s other bestie Heather, Matty McCabe as Paul’s brother Kory and Jane Seymour as Maddie’s mom Rosemary.

Another selling point of the film was its Irish backdrop. The cliffside landscapes and magical wishing garden mixed with the quaint town and the beautiful Kennedy estate all elevated the magical element of the story. I’ve been to Ireland before, but now I want to go back and explore even more of it.

Lindsay Lohan is what makes Irish Wish work so well. If she wasn’t in it, I probably wouldn’t have checked it out. We’ve seen various takes on the same story before and some of the dialogue cringey and uneven. But it was still cute and a perfect way to pass time after a long and tiring week and that’s all that matters.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

Mean Girls

Is it 2004 or 2024 I had to wonder while watching this new adaptation of Mean Girls. Based on the musical that was based on the classic film, the story follows new student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) as she is invited to hang out with the Plastics: Regina George (Renée Rapp), Karen Shetty (Avantika) and Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood). But when Cody falls for Aaron Samuels, (Christopher Briney) who just so happens to be Regina’s ex boyfriend, she finds herself in Regina’s crosshairs.

The 2004 version of Mean Girls is one of my all time favorite films. It is untouchable to me. I have seen it more times than I can count and I can recite the lines word for word. Did we really need an upgrade on something that was already perfect? I wasn’t sure, but I was willing to give it a chance.

I’m surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did. Firstly, everyone could carry a tune which was much appreciated. This allowed for the musical numbers to be even more fun. They were big and colorful and one was completely different from the other.

Of course there were going to be some updates to the material, since the original came out twenty years ago. While some of these didn’t quite work for me and a few of the newer jokes failed to land, I still found myself laughing out loud. The Halloween scene in particular and Karen’s song Sexy were such a vibe.

The casting was also pretty good. I was not familiar with Rice prior to her taking on the role of Cady, but I felt like she did it justice. Her portrayal was reminiscent of Lindsay Lohan’s for sure. Rapp, Shetty and Wood were fabulous as the Plastics and Briney worked well as our lovable heartthrob. I did think that Auli’i Cravalho’s Janis and Jaquel Spivey’s Damien were the scene stealers though – I loved that they narrated us through the story.

While I didn’t initially think we needed an updated version of Mean Girls, I am glad that we got one. It’s a slightly new take on a beloved classic that will be able to reach a new generation of fans. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that!

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5

Falling For Christmas

Hotel heiress Sierra Belmont (Lindsay Lohan) has it all. A fabulous wardrobe, the best staff on hand and a handsome fiancé Tad (George Young). While out on a skiing trip, Sierra falls off the mountain, hits her head and loses her memory. When lodge owner Jake Russell (Chord Overstreet) finds her, he, his daughter Avy (Olivia Perez) and mother in law Alejandra (Alejandra Flores) take her in.

To start off the festive season with Falling For Christmas seemed fitting, especially as it was Lindsay Lohan’s triumphant return to acting! Not starring in a feature film since 2007, I was more than ready to have her back on the big screen. The charisma and charm she oozed was always refreshing, not to mention the fact that she was an idol to me growing up. I’m so glad that she got her life back on track and is now starring in movies again. Not only is she acting again, she is also back to singing too. Fans should keep their eyes peeled for the perfect Mean Girls throwback. If you know, you know.

While the movie had a lot of funny moments, at the forefront was the budding love story between Sierra and Jake. I thought the chemistry between Lohan and Overstreet was cute. Seeing how welcoming he was to her and how patient he was in regards to her getting her memory back was lovely to watch. The way in which they both interacted with Avy was cute too. In addition, the inclusion of Avy’s maternal grandmother was a nice touch; I thought the four of them made such an adorable little family.

Everything about this movie screamed Christmas. From the snowy mountains to the extravagant decorations , I was instantly transported to a happier place. It may only be the middle of November, but it’s never too early if you ask me. Falling For Christmas had everything a holiday movie is supposed to have: romance, comedy and warm and fuzzy feelings. This is one I will be adding to my annual rewatch list for sure.

Rating: ♥♥♥