Freaky Friday (1995) (TV)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Melanie Mayron

Writers (WGA):

Mary Rodgers (book)
Mary Rodgers (earlier screenplay)

Release Date:

6 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Child As Adult | Role Reversal | Mother Daughter Relationship | Sports Team

Cast

Shelley Long	...	Ellen Andrews
Gaby Hoffmann	...	Annabelle Andrews
Catlin Adams	...	Dana 'Dinky' Barb
Sandra Bernhard	...	Frieda Debny
Andrew Bilgore	...	Mr. Sweet
Eileen Brennan	...	Principal Handel
Drew Carey	...	Stan Horner
Carol Kane	...	Leanne Futterman
Kevin Krakower	...	Herbie
Taylor Negron	...	Cary
Alan Rosenberg	...	Bill Davidson
Katherine Cortez	...	Mrs. Tarr
Joe Costanza	...	Construction Worker
E.J. De La Pena	...	Bully Kid
Mandy Douglas	...	Ninth Grader

Runtime:

USA:86 min | Canada:86 min (TV)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Television

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Melanie Mayron]Waitress

Movie Connections:

Remake of Freaky Friday (1976)

Long, sort of funny, could have been better

1995's Freaky Friday remake seemed like a good idea at the time. You've got two great actresses -- Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann -- to play the mother and daughter. You've got half the cast of 1995's "The Baby-sitters Club" (Asher Metchik, Natanya Ross, Marla Sokoloff). And then there's the cameo appearances that every Disney film should have (Carol Kane, Drew Carey, Sandra Bernhard). So what's the problem? First of all, as another reviewer suggested, it should NOT be compared to the original. The plots are nothing alike except for the mother-daughter switching thing. Their lives, predicaments, and personalities in the original and the remake are completely different. Even so, I'm going to compare them just long enough to say that in the original, you could believe Ellen was in Annabel's body and vice versa. With this 1995 version, Ellen and Annabel's personalities were so similar to begin with (both kind of loud, bold, etc.) that I was totally NOT convinced they'd even switched places. What's more, the film just goes on and on. Alan Rosenberg's character gets to yell a lot. And the end is really anticlimactic. Despite all of this, it's a decent movie and I'm surprised it hasn't been picked up to air on the Disney channel every once in a while. And if they would be so kind as to start airing these older movies they should definitely consider "The Great Mom Swap" -- another ABC gem from the same year.