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Freaky Friday

Play trailer Poster for Freaky Friday G Released Jan 21, 1977 1h 35m Kids & Family Comedy Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
65% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Annabel Andrews (Jodie Foster) and her mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris), don't always see eye to eye. After a particularly frustrating argument on Friday the 13th, the two simultaneously wish they could switch places -- and suddenly their wish is granted. Each discovers how difficult it is to be in the other's shoes, with Ellen causing chaos at Annabel's school, and Annabel unable to deal with her mother's domestic duties. The two learn a lot about themselves and their relationship in the process.
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Freaky Friday

Freaky Friday

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Critics Consensus

Freaky Friday is too well-behaved to live up to its comedic potential, but sprightly turns by Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster give the body-swapping farce some charm.

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Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Now Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster think to themselves in each other's voices and talk in their own, which is better than being either Dean Jones or a dog, but not much. Rated: 2.5/4 Jul 2, 2018 Full Review Time Out Good performances struggle gamely to overcome the increasingly predictable plot. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Richard Eder New York Times Toward the end there are some amusing car-chase scenes. Elsewhere the humor is clotted by the feeling that the jokes are chasing the reactions, instead of the other way around. Rated: 2/5 May 9, 2005 Full Review John Stark Mac the Movie Guy It starts with a bizarre musical number, which would be fine if this was a musical. It’s not. They just have a musical number because they felt like it. the spirit moved them. Rated: 42/100 Aug 12, 2025 Full Review Rachel Wagner Hallmarkies Podcast Some really strange elements that do not hold up Jul 26, 2025 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Freaky Friday is pleasant entertainment for matinees, but its anchor of salvation comes in the form of the two excellent actrices. [Full review in Spanish] Aug 15, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Tim M Disney embraces sitcom antics with Freaky Friday, but they're kept largely affable thanks to committed comedic turns from Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/21/25 Full Review Ash P Just so you know, I had never seen any of the Freaky Friday adaptations, whether the old versions or the recent ones. Because of Freakier Friday and because I love Jamie Lee Curtis, and it's good to see Lindsay Lohan doing better while coming back to acting, I figured, why not? This is what I call Freaky Week where I will watch every one of the movies, and we're gonna start off with the one that started it all. I actually forgot that it's based on a book of the same name, and I'm kinda curious about how the book was written. This movie's premise is pretty basic as both mother and daughter, Ellen and Annabel Andrews, played by Barbara Harris and a young Jodie Foster, getting on each others' nerves and as they're out and about, they had said that they wish they could understand each other in their daily basis. Which I'm not gonna lie, how they're portrayed their switcheroo seems a bit odd without much of an explanation. I mean, both said the same sentence, and all of a sudden, they switched bodies. Now Annabel is learning how hard it is to be a stay-at-home mother while Ellen is learning how her daughter lives as she feels like a teenager again. All throughout the same day being Friday the thirteenth. I can't help but find it funny. To be one hundred percent honest, most of the story is technically both mother and daughter experiencing each others' lives, and it's much harder than they'd expected. Most of the movie is like comedy while some family interaction like with the mother (daughter) interacting with the little brother, played by Sparky Marcus, and the boy across the street, Boris, played by Marc McClure. With the daughter (mother), she interacts with her daughter's friends and the father, Bill, played by John Astin. I actually questioned if there was a lesson that they needed to learn, and they barely thought about such lessons like understanding your mother/daughter or the choices you make. But I digress. Some of the scenes were fun to watch like seeing Ellen (Annabel) playing ball with her brother and that third act was just hilarious as you'd see in some other 70s/80s movies with both Annabel and Ellen for what they're currently going through. Some scenes do give me a bit of a headache like when Ellen (Annabel) deals with a lot of folks in the house as some chaos is going on as well as what Annabel (Ellen) is going through in the daughter's school. But again, some parts that happen in the school do get a chuckle out of me. If I also want to admit, the focus with the mother (daughter) being stuck at home all day might feel a bit outdated in today's standards. This movie isn't perfect, but I do respect it a bit for what it was ahead of its time. That one original song before the movie started was catchy. The acting was good. Hearing both Barabara Harris and Jodie Foster in the opposites head are fine since they are in each others' bodies. The mother, daughter, and father stole the show the most. The brother and the boy across the street are so-so when they weren't on screen the most. I'd gotten some laughs out of this movie. Some of the blue screen effects that were used back then felt outdated. Kinda wish there was an explanation on the whole switcheroo thing the mother and daughter had gone through, but I guess weird things can happen every once in a while. It was fine, at the end of the day. For that, I would give the 1976 Freaky Friday movie six and a half Ellen hang gliding out of ten. 6.5/10. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/12/25 Full Review Kid R. Boy this was freaky… Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 08/12/25 Full Review Stephen C Success in 1 hour and 35 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/26/25 Full Review thiago s Filme bacaninha, o roteiro é mais ou menos, as cenas são bacaninhas, a história é mais ou menos, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são mais ou menos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, o filme teve uma troca de corpo desnecessária perto do final, e o filme, não é melhor do que o filme de 2003. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 07/07/25 Full Review Khaliel P I only knew the remake with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, so it’s great to see that this ’70s version is just as fun, but also completely different and well suited to its time. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/08/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Freaky Friday

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Movie Info

Synopsis Annabel Andrews (Jodie Foster) and her mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris), don't always see eye to eye. After a particularly frustrating argument on Friday the 13th, the two simultaneously wish they could switch places -- and suddenly their wish is granted. Each discovers how difficult it is to be in the other's shoes, with Ellen causing chaos at Annabel's school, and Annabel unable to deal with her mother's domestic duties. The two learn a lot about themselves and their relationship in the process.
Director
Gary Nelson
Producer
Ron Miller
Screenwriter
Mary Rodgers
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures, Walt Disney Home Video [gb]
Production Co
Walt Disney Pictures
Rating
G
Genre
Kids & Family, Comedy, Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 21, 1977, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Runtime
1h 35m
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