Rating: 
Summary: A Classic
Review: I have always enjoyed this movie as pure entertainment.
Annabelle and her mom are at war with each other, not unusual for a teen and her mom is it? It is Friday the 13th and frustrated they both wish that they could trade places......and yes it happens and the fun begins. Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to walk in another person's shoes? I know I have.
This movie is true entertainment from start to finish. A fun movie with a lesson as well. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: FREAK ACCIDENT, CLASSIC FISH-OUT-OF-WATER COMEDY
Review: "Freaky Friday" is a classic Disney comedy that required no remake. As a 'coming of age' film it sincerely examines the trials and tribulations of both parents and children without ever allowing either perspective to become condescendingly smug. After the hysteria that was Haley Mills had cooled in the late sixties the Disney studio began searching for a teenage successor that could ensure box office success in the 1970s. They found their heir apparent in the embodiment of tomboyish, Jodie Foster. In "Freaky Friday" Foster plays Annabelle, the belligerent teenager who can't wait to grow up. She envisions that her mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris) lives a life of elegance and luxury, and, as such, Annabelle longs for just one chance to revel in what she perceives to be the pampered existence of adulthood. Likewise, Ellen can't understand why her teenager daughter complains so much about being a teenager. Both women get a reality check when a 'freak' accident transposes their brains into each other's bodies thus affording them the opportunity to experience each other's lifestyle for one catastrophically hilarious day. John Astin, Dick Van Patten and Ruth Buzzi costar.
TRANSFER: A very nice, very clean looking, anamorphically enhanced presentation. Colors are rich, vibrant and bold. Age related artifacts are a rarity. Rear projection and special effects photography appears worse for the wear than the rest of film, but is only marginally distracting. Contrast and black levels are solid. Overall, the picture has a very smooth characteristic that is easy on the eyes. The audio is mono and somewhat strident but, at a moderate listening level, quite acceptable.
EXTRAS: A 'look back' featurette and interactive game - boring!
BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: FREAK ACCIDENT, CLASSIC FISH-OUT-OF-WATER COMEDY
Review: "Freaky Friday" is a classic Disney comedy that required no remake. As a `coming of age' film it sincerely examines the trials and tribulations of both parents and children without ever allowing either perspective to become condescendingly smug. After the hysteria that was Haley Mills had cooled in the late sixties the Disney studio began searching for a teenage successor that could ensure box office success in the 1970s. They found their heir apparent in the embodiment of tomboyish, Jodie Foster. In "Freaky Friday" Foster plays Annabelle, the belligerent teenager who can't wait to grow up. She envisions that her mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris) lives a life of elegance and luxury, and, as such, Annabelle longs for just one chance to revel in what she perceives to be the pampered existence of adulthood. Likewise, Ellen can't understand why her teenager daughter complains so much about being a teenager. Both women get a reality check when a `freak' accident transposes their brains into each other's bodies thus affording them the opportunity to experience each other's lifestyle for one catastrophically hilarious day. John Astin, Dick Van Patten and Ruth Buzzi costar.
TRANSFER: A very nice, very clean looking, anamorphically enhanced presentation. Colors are rich, vibrant and bold. Age related artifacts are a rarity. Rear projection and special effects photography appears worse for the wear than the rest of film, but is only marginally distracting. Contrast and black levels are solid. Overall, the picture has a very smooth characteristic that is easy on the eyes. The audio is mono and somewhat strident but, at a moderate listening level, quite acceptable.
EXTRAS: A thorough retrospective by Jodie Foster and an interactive game.
BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A movie that needs no remake
Review: "Freaky Friday" is a true classic film to come from the world of Disney.
With Jodie Foster, one of the most brilliant and beautiful actresses of her generation, as Annabel, and the vivacious Barbara Harris as her mom, Ellen "Freaky Friday" has gone down in my history of film watching as one of the best all around.
Upon seeing the preview of the new version with jamie lee curtis, I immediately seeked out the orginal. It is funny, and just a pure joy to view multiple times.
The movie's basic plot is it's Friday the 13th, and Annabel and her mom are at war with each other. They both exclaim "i wish I could trade places with her", and their wishes come true!
The hijinks and chaos ensues.
Here's a film you can watch with your entire family. How many movies can you say that about these days?
it's utterly unforgettable, and even now that I am no longer a kid, I will always have a special place in my heart for this sweet silly story.
Rating:
Summary: A movie that needs no remake
Review: "Freaky Friday" is a true classic film to come from the world of Disney.
With Jodie Foster, one of the most brilliant and beautiful actresses of her generation, as Annabel, and the vivacious Barbara Harris as her mom, Ellen "Freaky Friday" has gone down in my history of film watching as one of the best all around.
Upon seeing the preview of the new version with jamie lee curtis, I immediately seeked out the orginal. It is funny, and just a pure joy to view multiple times.
The movie's basic plot is it's Friday the 13th, and Annabel and her mom are at war with each other. They both exclaim "i wish I could trade places with her", and their wishes come true!
The hijinks and chaos ensues.
Here's a film you can watch with your entire family. How many movies can you say that about these days?
it's utterly unforgettable, and even now that I am no longer a kid, I will always have a special place in my heart for this sweet silly story.
Rating:
Summary: It Could Only Happen on Friday the 13th!
Review: Annabel Andrews (Jodie Foster) isn't herself today - neither is her Mother, Ellen Andrews (Barbara Hariss). THEY BECAME EACH OTHER! Freaky Friday is a very underrated Disney movie that anyone can enjoy. Jodie Foster and Barbara Hariss are strangely very believable when playing each other (Freaky Friday is a story about a mother and a daughter who switch bodies. And what I mean is, Jodie Foster and Barbara Hariss are very good at it). One of the other great things about Freaky Friday is it's opening song, "I'd Like To Be You For A Day." The supporting actors such as Sparky Marcus & John Astin make this film complete. Also, Freaky Friday was nominated for the Golden Globe Award in 1977. BUY THIS FILM TODAY! (You won't regret it!)
Rating:
Summary: Freaky Friday
Review: Any Parents with Teenagers ?
Well this is a great movie and is suitable for the whole Family.
Great fun and amusing !!!
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Disney
Review: At last, Disney DVD presents a fine, widescreen print of one of its '70's classics with an accompanying twenty-minute recollection by Jodie Foster of her formative years on the Disney lot. Although this DVD of the original "Freaky Friday" is not a special edition, it is exactly the kind of product we Disney fans and DVD purists have been begging for. Hopefully, good sales will lead to new widescreen releases of previously botched fullscreen DVDs of "Follow Me, Boys," "Son of Flubber," "The Gnome Mobile" and "Blackbeard's Ghost," among others.One of the first of the popular body-switching genre, 1977's "Freaky Friday" is a fast-paced, perceptive comedy about a typical mother-and-daughter relationship and how the two react when they literally switch personalities for a day, with Foster's Annabel trapped in her mother's body, and Barbara Harris' Ellen going to junior high as Annabel. The complications are obvious but nonetheless funny and engaging, with Harris proving herself a skilled physical comedienne while skateboarding, playing baseball, and suffering through numerous pratfalls and humiliations. My only problem with Harris' performance is she seems to be playing Annabel too young--perhaps as a nine-year-old instead of a bright thirteen-year-old, so she's never entirely believable in the role. (Jamie Lee Curtis, on the other hand, nails the teenager-in-a-grownup-body role in the remake.) Foster, on the other hand, is just about perfect in her characterization of daughter/mother Annabel. Even in 1977 it was easy to see this phenomenal young talent was destined for great things as an actress. Indeed, "Freaky Friday" was part of an incredible string of top-notch performances Foster gave from 1973-1977 ("Tom Sawyer," "Echoes of a Summer," "Bugsy Malone," "Taxi Driver," "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" and "Candleshoe") that turned her into one of the finest (if not THE finest) child actresses of all time. Rounding out the cast is a fine group of veteran actors: John Astin as Bill Andrews, Annabel's confused father; Patsy Kelly as the family's grumpy and unlikeable housekeeper; Dick Van Patten as Bill's boss; and Ruth Buzzi, in a funny cameo as a field hockey coach (her strategy: "Get Annabel Andrews and get her good!") Gary Nelson's direction is crisp, and the script by novelist Mary Rodgers perceptive for the time, although she was forced to change the plot somewhat to include that tired Disney '70's staple: a protracted slapstick car chase involving Ellen/Annabel outracing several police cars without facing any consequences whatsoever. Like most Disney films of the era, the production values are stellar and the film is colorful and reminiscent of a live-action cartoon. Even the opening cartoon-credit sequence is engaging. Yes, there are some creepy sexual subtexts here (which Foster amusingly comments on in the documentary) involving Bill and neighbor-teen Boris (Marc McClure) both coming onto Ellen/Annabel, but they will go right over younger kids' heads and older kids will be as amused by it as their parents. Regardless, this is perfect family entertainment and will make a fine double-feature with the 2003 remake, which is equally good with its own merits. (I prefer Jamie Lee Curtis over Harris, and Foster over Lohan and think the remake is more successful in dealing with the sexual subtexts; i.e., the makers wisely scuttle the father's role and make Curtis a widow with a fiance played by Mark Harmon, which was the smartest of many changes made in the plot.) So, once again, thank you, Disney, for a fine DVD of one of your best '70's films. Please, please, please follow this one up with more widescreen releases.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Disney
Review: At last, Disney DVD presents a fine, widescreen print of one of its '70's classics with an accompanying twenty-minute recollection by Jodie Foster of her formative years on the Disney lot. Although this DVD of the original "Freaky Friday" is not a special edition, it is exactly the kind of product we Disney fans and DVD purists have been begging for. Hopefully, good sales will lead to new widescreen releases of previously botched fullscreen DVDs of "Follow Me, Boys," "Son of Flubber," "The Gnome Mobile" and "Blackbeard's Ghost," among others. One of the first of the popular body-switching genre, 1977's "Freaky Friday" is a fast-paced, perceptive comedy about a typical mother-and-daughter relationship and how the two react when they literally switch personalities for a day, with Foster's Annabel trapped in her mother's body, and Barbara Harris' Ellen going to junior high as Annabel. The complications are obvious but nonetheless funny and engaging, with Harris proving herself a skilled physical comedienne while skateboarding, playing baseball, and suffering through numerous pratfalls and humiliations. My only problem with Harris' performance is she seems to be playing Annabel too young--perhaps as a nine-year-old instead of a bright thirteen-year-old, so she's never entirely believable in the role. (Jamie Lee Curtis, on the other hand, nails the teenager-in-a-grownup-body role in the remake.) Foster, on the other hand, is just about perfect in her characterization of daughter/mother Annabel. Even in 1977 it was easy to see this phenomenal young talent was destined for great things as an actress. Indeed, "Freaky Friday" was part of an incredible string of top-notch performances Foster gave from 1973-1977 ("Tom Sawyer," "Echoes of a Summer," "Bugsy Malone," "Taxi Driver," "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" and "Candleshoe") that turned her into one of the finest (if not THE finest) child actresses of all time. Rounding out the cast is a fine group of veteran actors: John Astin as Bill Andrews, Annabel's confused father; Patsy Kelly as the family's grumpy and unlikeable housekeeper; Dick Van Patten as Bill's boss; and Ruth Buzzi, in a funny cameo as a field hockey coach (her strategy: "Get Annabel Andrews and get her good!") Gary Nelson's direction is crisp, and the script by novelist Mary Rodgers perceptive for the time, although she was forced to change the plot somewhat to include that tired Disney '70's staple: a protracted slapstick car chase involving Ellen/Annabel outracing several police cars without facing any consequences whatsoever. Like most Disney films of the era, the production values are stellar and the film is colorful and reminiscent of a live-action cartoon. Even the opening cartoon-credit sequence is engaging. Yes, there are some creepy sexual subtexts here (which Foster amusingly comments on in the documentary) involving Bill and neighbor-teen Boris (Marc McClure) both coming onto Ellen/Annabel, but they will go right over younger kids' heads and older kids will be as amused by it as their parents. Regardless, this is perfect family entertainment and will make a fine double-feature with the 2003 remake, which is equally good with its own merits. (I prefer Jamie Lee Curtis over Harris, and Foster over Lohan and think the remake is more successful in dealing with the sexual subtexts; i.e., the makers wisely scuttle the father's role and make Curtis a widow with a fiance played by Mark Harmon, which was the smartest of many changes made in the plot.) So, once again, thank you, Disney, for a fine DVD of one of your best '70's films. Please, please, please follow this one up with more widescreen releases.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly awful. Skip this and watch the SECOND remake...
Review: Body swap movies must be fun to make. Fred Savage and Judge Reinhold must have had a lot of fun in "Vice Versa" (1988). Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan must have in "Freaky Friday" (2003), too. The original "Freaky Friday," though, doesn't seem very fun at all, and I'd be surprised to find that the two lead actresses -- Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster -- had any fun whatsoever making it. Foster is on cruise control as Annabel, a tomboy youth growing up in suburban America during the mid-70s. I expected to see the Brady Bunch next door, walking outside and waving at Annabelle as she got ready to go to school. Annabel's mother (Harris) is a stay-at-home mom with a lazy husband. She's envys her daughter, who in turn envys her, and as the two simultaneously wish to swap places, a freak accident occurs and they do, in fact, swap places. Now they have to learn to appreciate each other's differences before they can swap back again. It won't be easy. Annabel (in her mother's body) makes moves on the next door neighbor, a school kid her age who is attracted to Annabel's mother. The love interest is never given anything other than minimal attention, and unlike the 2003 remake, there aren't many funny scenes involving him and the mother at all. This movie is dull, lifeless, routine, and downright painful to sit through. It sparked the national curiosity of the body switch comedies, inspiring "Like Father Like Son," "18 Again," "Vice Versa" (the superior version of the formula), and even "Big." The genre has been over-used and misused many times, and "Vice Versa" and the 2003 version are the only two that actually offer anything funny and actually come off as fresh. Otherwise this is boooooring! I saw "Freaky Friday" (2003) last night at a screening and it was ten times better than this. I also saw the TV version with Shelley Long and that, too, was even better than the 1976 version, which is so sickly cheery and low budget it almost pains the viewer. Foster was fresh off the success of "Taxi Driver," released the same year, which is at least 1,000,000 times better than this film. She displays little acting skill, however, muttering her lines in voice-over narrative like she's reading off the back of a piece of paper -- which no doubt she was, anyhow. Barbara Harris, in the role of Ellen, offers little other than dumb expressions and cute lines. The film even resorts to an awful climatic finale involving a cop car chase -- a sure sign that a film is in trouble. The director, Gary Nelson, seems to have a knack for making absolutely nothing funny appear out of the given material. Looking back in retrospect, this was the first film of the body swatch genre, and seeing how mediocre this cheery little dud is, I can't understand why anyone would have offered to remake the material for years to come. Here are words of advice: Skip this. Watch the 2003 remake. It's much, much better, and much, much funnier. Oh, and it has better acting, directing, and scriptwriting. Am I being cruel to this film? I don't think so. After all, it spawned an unfortunate series of awful body swap movies, and for that it deserves to die a truly painful death.
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