| UltimateDisney.com's
Top 30 Live Action Disney Movies Countdown 17.  (1977) |
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| The original Freaky Friday is a fun and hilarious film. It is filled
with
funny, quotable dialogue. The script is great, and what makes it all come
together are the performances by it's stars. Jodie Foster is very good
and
entertaining as Annabel, but it's Barbara Harris as Mrs. Andrews who
steals
the show. Her transformation into her teenage daughter trying to be a
wife
and mother is a blast. Barbara Harris has a wacky, rebelliousness that
comes
though in her performance. It's perfect. Her scenes with Boris
(Annabel's
teenage crush who lives across the street) and her son Ben, are
especially
funny.
The young Sparky Marcus as little Ben Andrews is adorable. His scene of confiding in his "mother" about his true feelings for sister Annabel is very touching. Marc McClure as Boris Harris (who makes a cameo appearance in 2003's Freaky Friday as Boris making a delivery) is great in his role as the allergy-prone object of Annabel's affections. Another standout character is Mrs. Schmauss the cleaning lady. Her interactions with "Mrs. Andrews" are side splitting from start to finish. The title song, "I'd Like To Be You For A Day", is really beautiful and
compliments the sentiment in the film. Freaky Friday is a feel good
film
with a message that is obvious, but also has a subtle message
throughout
that reminds us not to take life too seriously. It seems to say "Enjoy
the
people you love, appreciate their individuality and struggles, and most
of
all, allow yourself to have fun on this crazy journey called life."
Made back when fun films really were fun, Freaky Friday is a sheer delight
from beginning to end! A comic gem of a movie, full of great character
performances, and those zany Disney visual gags, that only Disney could do
so well. This is certainly one of the finest examples of the Disney
slapstick comedy, that had become such an important part of the studio's
output from 1959 thru to about 1980.
What elevates this above the ordinary is not so much the material, but the
superb performances of the entire cast. Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster
deliver delightfully dynamic perfomances as a mother and daughter, trying
desperately to cope with being trapped in each other's body. Performances
that earned them critical praise and nominations at the year's Golden Globe
awards. But it is not just the major stars that shine here. The movie is
filled to overflowing with excellent character perfomances, such as Ruth
Buzzi and Kaye Ballard as rival hockey team coaches, Sorrell Booke and Ceil
Cabot as Mr. Dilk and Miss McGuirk respectively, Alan Oppenheimer as Mr.
Joffert, Marvin Kaplan as the Carpet Cleaner, and my personal favorite,
Patsy Kelly as the alcoholic housekeeper, Mrs. Schmauss.
The animated opening credits are a treat too, setting the tone for the
movie. And they are accompanied by the delightful song, "I'd Like to be You
for a Day", penned by composers & lyricists Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn,
and sung by the movie's two leading stars.
My favorite scene has to be where Annabel, in her mother's body, is trying
to cope with the arrival of the mechanic, the drapery man, the carpet
cleaners, the neighbor, and the grocery boy. The hockey game is a total
riot too! Particularly so because of the dynamically driven comic
performances given here by Kaye Ballard and Ruth Buzzi. And the car chase
towards the end ranks right up there with the basketball match from "The
Absent Minded Professor," the drive-inn scene from the original "That Darn
Cat," Herbie's antics in the original "Love Bug," and the crazy car chase
from "The Gnomemobile," as one of the zaniest pieces of visual comedy Disney
ever produced.
A slice of reality, this may not be. But for anyone who just wants a movie
that is good, clean, pure, wholesome fun. This movie is for you.
Trivia note: Watch for Boris (Marc McClure) as a deilvery man in the 2003
re-make. |
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