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Based on Mary Rodgers’s novel, Disney’s 1976 body-swapping comedy paired a young Jodie Foster with Barbara Harris. The remake gives us Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, who have a good time with the material, especially Curtis when her anal-retentive Tess Coleman is imbued with her daughter Annabell’s 15-year-old persona and realizes she can drive and has a credit card at her disposal. Before that, Tess is too busy with her needy psych patients and her upcoming nuptials to notice that the free-spirited Annabell (Lohan) is being railroaded by a vindictive teacher. Then there are the unresolved issues about Annabell’s dearly departed dad, and her stepdad-to-be (Mark Harmon), and body piercing. With Tess’s wedding set for Saturday, the matron of a Chinese restaurant takes matters into her own hands and slips mother and daughter each a magic fortune cookie. Much of the life lessoning comes off as heavy-handed and maudlin. The film’s strong suit is the fish-out-of-water generational gags, and director Mark S. Waters (House of Yes) does well to keep them coming at a rapid-fire rate. The (mercifully) brief thong scene is a real zinger, and when Lohan’s teenage mom tries to kick it in a grrrl band, the whole airy confection finds its stride. (95 minutes)
BY TOM MEEK
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