Freaky Friday (1976)
“I wish I could switch places with her, for just one day.”
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Synopsis: |
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Review:
Better known for her work on Broadway than in films, this may actually be Harris’s best leading role onscreen: her no-holds-barred portrayal of an adolescent trapped in an adult body is a sheer pleasure to watch, from beginning to end. In early scenes, we see her luxuriating over the fact that she’s not only liberated from attendance at school but suddenly has a sexy, braces-free demeanor — only to quickly demonstrate how inadequately prepared she is to handle everything associated with the ’70s vision of womanhood/motherhood, from putting on false eyelashes (a great scene!):
… to preparing an impromptu meal for 30 to managing a household full of domestic assistants.
Fortunately, the film as a whole is mostly deserving of her stand-out performance, with the switched-identities element particularly well handled throughout. While we only see each character in her original body for the first 12 minutes of the film (and during the tail-end of the hectic finale), we nonetheless continue to believe in and understand exactly what’s happened to them, thanks to clever use of voice-over (plus, of course, the spot-on performances by the female leads). If there’s one slight downside, it’s that Harris’s travails as teenage “Annabel” are so much more intrinsically interesting and hilarious than Foster’s as the adult “Ellen”. Foster is primarily shown being humiliated time and again at school — either from her lack of knowledge about “modern” equipment (she has no idea how electric typewriters work):
… or her overabundance of knowledge in history class (where she’s viewed as a know-it-all), or her utter clumsiness on the hockey field (where she’s literally pummeled by members of the opposing team).
In sum, “Ellen”/”Mrs. Andrews” simply isn’t as interesting a character as “Annabel”. Regardless, the fast-paced screenplay (written by Rodgers herself) keeps us on our toes throughout, right up until the surprisingly enjoyable slapstick finale (involving a cop chase and an elaborate water-skiing revue). It’s also fun to see how cleverly Rodgers incorporates sly sexual innuendos without ever bordering on poor taste — i.e., the titillated reaction by Astin when Harris accidentally calls him “Daddy” a few times.
Meanwhile, both Harris and Foster learn important lessons in how to empathize with each other (naturally), but this thankfully isn’t hammered over our heads. Somewhat surprisingly, Freaky Friday remains worth a one-time look by all film fanatics — primarily for Harris’s performance, but also as a pleasantly enjoyable situation comedy. Watch for the inspired final shot/scene. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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One thought on “Freaky Friday (1976)”
First viewing. A once-must – for the performances by Foster and Harris (and to be familiar with the work of Mary Rodgers).
I’m not surprised I hadn’t seen this until now (although I did see the 2003 remake). By the ’70s, I had pretty much stopped watching Disney films (though I’m not referring to Disney’s Touchstone branch). Also, when this film was released, I had just moved to NYC and I wasn’t seeing many films for a period (nor did I have a tv).
When I started this viewing, I soon realized that a rather adult male is not the target audience – so I had to switch over to another side of my brain. Even so… it’s a very silly movie (though, again, more so for an adult male). However… it makes a number of cute observations due to its take on perspective. (I like, for example, when Foster – with her mom’s mind – observes about her dad: “As a dad, you’re super; as a husband, you’re more like a traffic cop.”)
I’m not that familiar with Rodgers as a book writer – I’m mainly familiar with the way she works her lightness and ‘humor’ into her work as a composer (‘Once Upon a Mattress’ and ‘The MAD Show’). But even here she has a certain light touch – which I only wish had more actual laugh lines. Much of it is amusing but not to the point of being laugh-out-loud funny.
Foster had, of course, just recently made ‘Taxi Driver’ – what a switch from *that* to *this*. But she does reveal a maturity beyond her years. I esp. like her in the scene where – while in her mom’s mind – she meets her dad’s va-va-voom secretary (the one who’s not essentially stupid, picks up on Foster’s judgmental vibe, and immediately begins over-dressing to make herself less attractive).
It is true that Harris had more of a standout career on-stage. In film, it was not as easy for her to find material that suited her (she was kind of like her ‘Second City’ colleague Elaine May in that sense). As well, she often said she was not that interested in fame (but was more interested in the actual work of being an actor). This may have been one of her high-profile roles (in terms of the number of people who saw her work because of it) but she was also top-notch in ‘Nashville’, ‘Family Plot’, and ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’ (perhaps a few others).
Here’s a little more on Rodgers, speaking for herself:
http://talentdevelop.com/interviews/Page60.html