Freaky Friday (1995 TV Movie) User Reviews

A mix bag

[atinder · 5/10 · 26 May 2013]

Well before (2003 remake) there was another TV remake movie, that i don't think many people know about it as much as lattes remake.

This movie i felt it a little more serious and I didn't think this was that funny and girl when this movie 15 years old and really that her mum not paying that much attention to her.

While the mum got huge meeting to a work, we cost them their job and as to fire someone at work place and look after her family.

When this movie their dad brought over some kind neck less but mum and daughter and they holding the neck less and they both wished to swap places,

I liked how they change in second and they were next each other in the car, I found that very decent and I thought that maybe the best switch of the 3 movies.

I felt the movie tried way to hard to really funny but failed and as comedy felt really forced at times, I liked they were other people who also knew in this movie, (Which kind of makes this remake on his own)

I wish was more clearer when switch back but I could not really tell in this movie but there not last joke scenes in this movie, which I thought would be, I was little disappointing by that

5 out of 10

Long, sort of funny, could have been better

[ZoeBean · 21 July 2002]

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.

I wish I could of changed places with someone.

[ed_two_o_nine · 2/10 · 22 March 2008]

This is a terrible movie with really nothing going for it that I can see. Being that there are three versions of this movie this surely must be the worst (I have seen the first but not the last but if it is worse than this then I will be avoiding it like the plague) . These middle class white suburban American settings are something I always struggle with as I find them so unreal and twee especially as in this case they are Disneyfied. Sheeley long again proves that she should never have left Cheers and again plays a watered down version of Dianne. The plot as you all must have gathered by now is that well trodden path of parent and child swapping bodies and all the pranks and pitfalls that they have to deal with (oh how we laugh!). With no direction to write home about and no performances of note this film has been dome before and so much better. If you are looking for a film of this type to watch as a family then do yourself a favour and watch 'Big'. Not to be viewed again

Remake

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 1 May 2022]

This made-for-TV movie has Shelly Long as Ellen and Gaby Hoffman (the daughter of Warhol superstar Viva) as Annabelle. A pair of magical amulets causes the two of them to switch bodies in this version and waterskiing has been replaced with diving.

Ellen is also a single mother dating Bill (Alan Rosenberg) and designing clothing, which is the 90s version of being a housewife. What livens this up are a great cast with Drew Carey, Sandra Bernhard, Carol Kane and the much missed Taylor Negron.

Writer Stu Krieger wrote The Parent Trap II, A Troll in Central Park, Zenon: Girlof the 21st Century and Phantom of the Megaplex while director Melanie Mayron is probably best known for playing Melissa Steadman on Thirtysomething even through she has more than sixty directing credits on her resume.

The other big change is that when Annabelle is in Ellen's body, she tells Bill exactly how much she dislikes him, thinking it will push him away. Instead, he proposes.

Forgive me for being weird, but...do these characters ever have to make love in these bodies? Because, well, that could be awkward.

A really good fun movie

[dkrob · 10/10 · 23 March 2005]

I haven't had the experience of having seen the other 2 versions of this film but this one with Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffman I found was delightful. I didn't think it would be a funny movie but with Shelley Long in it I did think it would be a fun movie and it really was. Was that really Gaby Hoffman swimming and diving because if it was she is an excellent swimmer and diver. Shelley Long roller blading. Was that really her and if so she is a really good roller bleater. The film I found enjoyable from beginning to end. Ben, Gabys brother was a really good character and punk rapper "annabelles got a boy named Luke. Every time I see him makes me puke" and Shelley Longs business partner put all his soul into his part. The whole cast in it were a pleasure to watch. Getting this video in England is very difficult indeed so I had to go to America to get it and I am very glad I did.

Get Your Freak On.

[MovieAddict2016 · 14 August 2003]

Happy made-for-TV remake of the 1970s original, starring Shelly Long. Very typical, predictable, and not all that funny, but also very watchable and earnest, clean entertainment. I heard the newest remake with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan is much better - but this one is okay, I suppose.

3/5 stars -

John Ulmer

Not Quite Freaky

[ALS1 · 15 August 2000]

I had the opportunity of seeing the original version of this movie when I was in third grade. Believe it or not, this was the first movie that I ever saw Jodie Foster in--not "Taxi Driver" (considering that I was 9, that was probably a good thing).

This was not a bad movie, and it wasn't intended to be identical to the original, but the peripheral characters in this version fell flat. Sandra Bernhard was stifled--not very funny at all, just kind of stuffy and bitchy. And I was expecting a spunky "tomboy" Annabelle like Jodie Foster's, not the subdued, frustrated suburban teenager that Gaby Hoffman played (although that's actually closer to Mary Rodgers' novel). And NOBODY could play Mrs. Andrews like Barbara Harris. The sight of her waterskiing in a velvet evening dress with her false eyelashes coming off was just too priceless!

One thing I DID like about this version, though: the red convertible VW bug that Shelley Long drives is identical to the one that Barbara Harris drove in the original! I was so afraid we'd be seeing a BMW or some other yuppie wussy-wagon. Thank God for SOME tradition!

In short, don't watch the original version before you see this one. Let this one stand on its own first. It isn't made to be compared, but it's inevitable that you will compare it.

Cute, funny, but it IS and stays a Disney-movie

[alains_postbus · 14 April 2000]

What can I say? I saw the movie. I liked it. But I would recommend it to children and teens, NOT to adults. This is a typical Disney family-movie.

If you are a person who likes realistic ('based on true story') movies, DON'T watch this. If you're in for some fun and a little laugh, you should watch this movie, because some situations are really hilarious.

A Fun Family Movie!

[famousgir1 · 9 October 2001]

Freaky Friday is a great movie starring Gaby Hoffmann and Shelley Long who play mother and daughter who switch places for a day. This version of Freaky Friday is *much* better than the original. (Don't get me wrong though, the original is okay.) Gaby Hoffmann is a brilliant actress and as usual she gives a fantastic performance here. Freaky Friday is a movie for everyone, especially if you like family-type movies. I give Freaky Friday a 10/10.

The American Version is Better

[frostedpinkcupcake · 6 April 2004]

Great role for Gaby Hoffman! My family enjoyed this one quite a bit. At times, tears came to our eyes! Shelley Long also does well, as does the rest of the cast. I did expect the movie to be a bit closer to the original, but I believe that they were trying to portray the actual events, not the writings such as what the first was based upon. - - THIS SHOWS HOW PARENTS NEED TO BE PART OF A CHILD'S LIFE. ALL DEAD BEAT PARENTS NEED TO SEE THIS! - FUN!I am a huge fan of the remake of Freaky Friday, and I decided to rent the second remake, the supposedly much better and funnier version. The idea was nice, a very good and original plot, but nothing about this movie was funny enough to keep me laughing. The sounds and music were scary at some times, but i was expecting more laugh out loud humor. Freaky Friday seemed short and predictable too me but that was probably because the American remake version added lots more stuff and funnier jokes to it that this movie didn't have. I think that the Jamie Lee Curtis/Lindsay Lohan version and the original movie starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris. 6/10