Freaky Friday

Click to Buy	Ratings Summary (Scored out of a maximum of five)
	Audio		Video
	Goodies		Interface
	Value

The Movie

Freaky Friday was an extremely successful release for Disney in 2003.
The story is a remake of Disney’s 1976 classic starring Barbara Harris
and Jodie Foster. This version is thoroughly modern yet avoids being cynical.
Jamie Lee Curtis takes Harris’ role as the mother, and is the highlight
of the entire movie. Lindsay Lohan plays 15-year-old daughter Anna. Both
learn self-sacrifice and a new appreciation for each others’ lives when
they switch bodies for a day. Alex Stroup gave a full review of the film when it was released. My children were very excited to watch the DVD and to delve
into the extras.

The Goodies

There are a good number of extras listed on the DVD; however, they are
not very detailed when one actually views them. A section called “Backstage
Pass with Lindsay Lohan” has Lohan introducing the actors as they
prepare to film scenes. She also shows her on-set school—a trailer.
It was interesting to see her talking with her tutor and to realize that
she is still just a kid who still needs to get her math homework in on
time.

There is the standard blooper reel, two music videos and one deleted
scene which turns out to be nothing more than a ten second shot cut from
an already existing scene. The director Mark Waters does explain why he
deleted it, but it was disappointing to see there were not more deleted
scenes included. Music is a big theme in the film, and there are two music
videos included taken from clips of the songs from the film. There is
also a small scene showing Jamie Lee Curtis playing the guitar during
the House of Blues audition.

Image ©Disney

The most potentially interesting part of the goodies package was the
“two alternate endings” promoted on the DVD. These turned out
to be less than fascinating, with the director again introducing these
two short clips and explaining why they were not used in the film. He
did mention several times about the set-up for a potential sequel, which
is not surprising.

The Video, Audio and Interface

The DVD has both full frame and widescreen formats on the same disc,
which is helpful for people who get the formats confused. The disc uses
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The interface is very standard, and
since the extras on the disc are pretty basic, children will have no trouble
navigating their way through. The colors and music are pretty intense
which is very appealing to the younger fans of the film, but can be grating
eventually to older viewers.

Image ©Disney

The Final Evaluation

For those of us who are fast becoming spoiled by the mountains of extras
put together for some Disney DVDs, this disc might prove a bit disappointing.
However, the film is one of the most entertaining family films of the
year. My children will choose to view Freaky Friday over Finding Nemo
most days, which is saying a lot. It’s definitely a DVD that will be popular
with kids and parents alike.