13 Going on 30 (2004)

A 13 year old girl plays a game on her 13th birthday and wakes up the next day as a 30 year old woman.

Director:

Gary Winick

Writers:

Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa

Stars:

Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer

11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Garner	...	Jenna Rink
Mark Ruffalo	...	Matt Flamhaff
Judy Greer	...	Lucy Wyman
Andy Serkis	...	Richard Kneeland
Kathy Baker	...	Bev Rink
Phil Reeves	...	Wayne Rink
Sam Ball	...	Alex Carlson (as Samuel Ball)
Marcia DeBonis	...	Arlene
Christa B. Allen	...	Young Jenna
Sean Marquette	...	Young Matt
Kiersten Warren	...	Trish Sackett
Joe Grifasi	...	Mr. Flamhaff
Mary Pat Gleason	...	Mrs. Flamhaff
Susan Egan	...	Tracy Hansen
Lynn Collins	...	Wendy

Storyline

After total humiliation at her thirteenth birthday party, Jenna Rink wants to just hide until she's thirty. Thanks to some wishing dust, Jenna's prayer has been answered. With a knockout body, a dream apartment, a fabulous wardrobe, an athlete boyfriend, a dream job, and superstar friends, this can't be a better life. Unfortunetly, Jenna realizes that this is not what she wanted. The only one that she needs is her childhood best friend, Matt, a boy that she thought destroyed her party. But when she finds him, he's a grown up, and not the same person that she knew.

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Plot Keywords:

birthday | party | friend | editor | 13th birthday | 

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Taglines:

For some, 13 feels like it was just yesterday. For Jenna, it was.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and brief drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Tristar [fr] Official site [br]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

23 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Si tuviera 30

Filming Locations:

Spring Street Towers - 650 S. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$37,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,324,715 (Germany) (10 September 2004)

Gross:

$4,382,272 (Australia) (24 September 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios, Thirteen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As Jenna softens, the production team adjusted her wardrobe accordingly, e.g. wearing warmer colours. And as Lucy becomes ruthless, her fashion sense goes the same way.

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Goofs

When Jenna hears the cell phone ring for the first time in her apartment and goes to investigate, we see a sofa table with some umbrellas attached, and a jacket draped over a box with the box visible to the left. Then, as she looks back, the box has changed position and is more to the right, buried beneath the jacket.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Boy: Move it, dorkus.

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Crazy Credits

As you near the end of the credits, the song "Love is a Battlefield" blends to include the audio of the girls singing along during their sleepover.

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Connections

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Ice Ice Baby"
Written by Vanilla Ice (as Robert Van Winkle), Floyd Brown, Mario Johnson, Freddie Mercury, John Deacon, Roger Taylor, Brian May, and David Bowie
Performed by Vanilla Ice
Courtesy of SBK Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Garner shines, Ruffalo's wonderful and that makes all the difference

Having criticized the writer of "Connie and Carla" for not recognizing the writers of "Some Like it Hot" in the credits, I'd be a hypocrite not to fault the writers of "13 Going on 30" for not thanking the writers of "Big" (and probably "Vice Versa" and all those switch-comedies of the 1980s).

But unlike the wretched and dreadfully unfunny "Connie and Carla," which featured two horrible performances by the male and female leads, "13 Going on 30" is helped immensely by an utterly charming and winning performance by Jennifer Garner and yet another wonderful turn by Mark Ruffalo, who's fast becoming one of the best actors of his generation.

Garner has a smile that would melt the heart of the severest cynic and she uses that to great effect. She brilliantly captures the awkwardness of a confused teenager stuck in a 30-year-old body and is thoroughly believable as Jenna. There's a captivating sweetness to her performance that's lovely to watch. Ruffalo plays Matt with understated grace - there are scenes in this film that could easily have been played over-the-top, but it's his low-key approach that makes them all the more convincing.

The story, itself, is awfully conventional. There's nothing new or unexpected here. Even the odd twist in the plot provides nothing unpredictable. So it's up to the actors to elevate this above the ordinary and mundane. This film pours on the schmaltz at times, but it's Garner and Ruffalo who help take the schmaltzy plot and somehow make it work. This film succeeds solely because of their performances. Garner proved she could do action with TV's "Alias" and the dull "Daredevil," and now she shows she's a damn fine comedic actress, too.

Romantic comedies are inherently predictable. It's the nature of the genre. And, more often than not nowadays, they're also incredibly dull, uninspiring and make for tough viewing. And "13 Going on 30" being a Hollywood, not independent, film, you know the writers aren't going to take any risks with their story.

But somehow thanks to Garner and Ruffalo, "13 Going on 30" has undeniable charm. It may not leave a lasting impression, but you leave the theatre smiling and that's more than what can be said of most romantic comedies these days.