Walt Disney Productions
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Annabel and her mother are not quite themselves today... In fact, they're each other!
School girl Annabel is hassled by her mother, and Mrs. Andrews is annoyed with her daughter, Annabel. They both think that the other has an easy life. On a normal Friday morning, both complain about each other and wish they could have the easy life of their daughter/mother for just one day and their wishes come true as a bit of magic puts Annabel in Mrs. Andrews' body and vice versa. They both have a Freaky Friday.
r96sk
Aug 27, 2020 · via TMDB
Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster are superb in <em>'Freaky Friday'</em>! Having only seen the 2003 remake, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this 1976 original. In short, I loved it. It's funny and charming, a real shining light in Disney's live-action stuff from the 1970s. They only give you a snippet of Ellen (Harris) and Annabel (Foster) in their actual state, before switching it up, but it's more than enough to set up how the characters should act versus how they then act. The two leads are utterly fantastic, they both boss their respective roles. It's easy to forget they're acting as their opposing characters in moments, which is very impressive. Obviously a load of the story elements are outdated in terms of gender roles etc., but even when that stuffs occurs the film - at least in my interpretation - sniggers at it - especially with Bill (John Astin). The actual comedic moments remain amusing. I enjoyed this way more than I would've predicted, I haven't watched the '03 production in an incredibly long time so look forward to seeing how it compares to this. A great film, elevated by Harris and Foster.
Kamurai
Jul 13, 2020 · via TMDB
Okay watch, probably won't watch again, and can't recommend. It was interesting to see a young Jodie Foster... While I appreciate this popularizing (I'm still not convinced it birthed) a trope of "body swapping", it seems very uninspired: as if they said, "Wouldn't it be great if a kid and a parent swapped?" and then just stopped coming up with ideas. It was honestly very jarring on both swaps, the latter being honestly confusing (despite having addressed it directly). The movie made me realize how difficult it would be to swap places and attempt to "be" that person without a shred of preparation. I'm sure that's a bad sign as I should be more entertained by the novelty or adversity of the situation, but no. It's not that its a bad movie, there's a lot going on, a lot of it decent, but it's very dated. Even the action in it is a little awkward, but I certainly see why people in 1976 would have been impressed with this. On the other hand, I don't imagine people were talking about it for very long. There is a lot of thought narration that occurs, which isn't very engaging, and most of the engaging humor is cheap physical humor of "what's going to go wrong this time" so you're not engaged very long and the impression doesn't hold. The part of the movie that is actually rather good is the substance of teaching everyone to appreciate everyone else in the family, but we really took "walk a mile in his shoes" to an extreme here. There are more palatable ways to express the concept, and more movies that use this trope. I honestly suggest the 2003 version over this one, it's just not very memorable.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Jodie Foster
Annabel Andrews
Barbara Harris
Ellen Andrews
John Astin
Bill Andrews
Patsy Kelly
Mrs Schmauss
Dick Van Patten
Harold Jennings
Vicki Schreck
Virginia
Sorrell Booke
Mr Dilk
Alan Oppenheimer
Mr Joffert
Ruth Buzzi
Opposing Coach
Kaye Ballard
Coach Betsy
Marc McClure
Boris Harris
Marie Windsor
Mrs Murphy
Sparky Marcus
Ben Andrews
Ceil Cabot
Miss McGuirk
Marvin Kaplan
Carpet Cleaner
Al Molinaro
Drapery Man
Iris Adrian
Bus Passenger
Charlene Tilton
Bambi
Jack Sheldon
Lloyd
Laurie Main
Mr. Mills
Fritz Feld
Mr. Jackman
Dermott Downs
Harvey Manager
James Van Patten
Cashier
Dick Warlock
Stunts
Gary Nelson
Director
Ron Miller
Producer
Johnny Mandel
Original Music Composer
Mary Rodgers
Book
Mary Rodgers
Novel
Mary Rodgers
Screenplay
Dec 17, 1976
Los Angeles, California
Jan 21, 1977
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Versus
Sign in to play →
Hedonist Hypnotist
1970
Iemand Soos jy
1978
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Top Gun: Maverick
2022 · 11 wins
Joker
2019 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
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