‘Freakier Friday’ Review: Nostalgia-Packed Sequel Brings Back the Body Swap Chaos

Back in 1972, author Mary Rodgers probably didn’t expect her quirky body-swap novel Freaky Friday to keep spinning new stories over 50 years later. Yet here we are in 2025 with Freakier Friday, a fresh twist in the long-running franchise that refuses to fade. The core idea remains the same: a mother and daughter magically switch bodies, walk a mile in each other’s shoes, and come out with a better understanding of one another. It’s simple, relatable, and apparently timeless. And yes, Disney is still cashing in on it.

This new installment is a direct sequel to the beloved 2003 version starring Lindsay Lohan as moody teen Anna and Jamie Lee Curtis as her overworked mom Tess. Directed by Nisha Ganatra and written by Jordan Weiss, Freakier Friday seems tailor-made for fans of that earlier film — many of whom have likely become parents themselves by now.

Lohan returns as Anna, who is now a single mom to her teenage daughter Harper (played by Julia Butters). Anna left her punk rock days with the band Pink Slip behind when Harper was born and now manages rising pop star Ella (played by Never Have I Ever’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). Tess, meanwhile, is loving life as a grandmother, and hosts her own parenting podcast. And yes, Jamie Lee Curtis makes her presence felt through that connection.

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As expected, the movie builds slowly toward the inevitable body-swap chaos, but it lays a few quirky foundations first. Harper has a not-so-friendly science lab partner named Lily (Sophia Hammons), a snobby British girl who’s convinced she’s better than everyone. When Harper and Lily get into a heated spat, their parents — Anna and Lily’s charming dad Eric (played by Manny Jacinto) — meet at school and sparks fly. Soon enough, a wedding is on the cards, and Harper and Lily are horrified at the thought of becoming stepsisters.

Cue the magic. You know it’s coming, and when it hits, it brings all the mayhem you’d expect from a Freaky Friday story. Unlike horror films where body swapping can get dark and creepy, here it’s all played for laughs. The humor comes from the classic dramatic irony: we, the audience, know who’s really inside each body, even when the characters don’t. It’s silly, wholesome, and loaded with a message about understanding each other — very Disney, very familiar, but still effective.

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Freakier Friday is clearly built for family movie night. It leans into intergenerational jokes that parents and kids can laugh at together. There are enough modern updates to keep things relevant (hello, parenting podcasts and single moms who used to be punk rockers), but it still carries the same heart that made the 2003 film a hit.

That said, the movie’s fast pace leaves some moments feeling rushed or disconnected. In a few scenes, the story jumps without explanation — like when Harper and Lily suddenly team up at a bachelorette party with barely any lead-up. You get the gist, but the missing pieces are noticeable.

As the plot barrels forward with wacky capers and emotional beats, it sometimes loses tension. The jokes about generational misunderstandings are fine, but not all of them land. The humor needs to be sharp to keep us engaged through predictable beats, and while some actors shine — Lohan’s still got that comic timing, Jacinto is effortlessly charming, and Hammons delivers a strong performance — others either go overboard or hold back too much. At times, it’s even hard to keep track of who’s in whose body, which isn’t great for a film relying on that exact confusion for its laughs.

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Still, Freakier Friday sticks the landing. The finale hits all the right emotional notes, mirroring the 2003 version in theme, music, and message. And that’s really the point. Families repeat patterns. Mistakes echo across generations. Growth happens when we take a closer look at each other’s lives — or literally live in them for a while.

Trying to juggle all of this through a multi-character body swap is ambitious. It’s like trying to play chess on three boards at once. It doesn’t always make perfect sense, but if you’re here for the nostalgia and heartfelt lessons, it doesn’t have to.

Freakier Friday
Rated: PG
Runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes
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