Freaky Friday

G

Released Jan 21, 1977

1 hr. 35 min.

Kids & Family

Comedy

Fantasy

List

71%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

57%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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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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Jeffrey M

Freaky Friday was an okay movie I watched it kind of a long time ago, but maybe if I had watched it sooner, I would have liked it more. Freaky Friday was an interesting movie, but I remember it, like a lot of old Disney movies, was slightly boring. Freaky Friday was an okay movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/17/24

Full Review

Zinjx W

Way better than the remake with Lindsay Lohan from (2003). 40 years old (looks very young) Barbara Harris is excellent in this movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/23

Full Review

Wayne F

Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris do a fantastic a great movie for the family

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/03/23

Full Review

Taylor L

I betcha Jodie Foster wishes she was Lindsay Lohan, huh? Then she would've had a real hit on her hands. Don't wish to switch places with a parent, otherwise terrible visual effects will come for you! The greenscreen is dodgy as hell and the responsibilities of a housewife are amusingly dated, but thanks to some absurdist scenarios and a fun performance from Barbara Harris, Freaky Friday still has a bit of charm to spare. Whether or not the ending resolution is earned - mother and daughter coming together with a new understanding of each other - is a matter of debate, but after the standard little mistakes of not knowing where classes are or adding too much soap to the washing machine, the film gets surprisingly grandiose for the finale. There's a massive car chase scene, a huge jet ski/paragliding routine, and even a shot of a cop car getting split in half by a concrete wall, and it's mostly practical effects. The subplot where Annabel (in her mom's body) gets to talk candidly with her little brother about how much he loves her is very cute, though this film gets to add yet another chapter in the weirdly sexualized childhood of Jodie Foster when her father gets a rise out of hearing her call him 'daddy'. This original adaptation has basically no explanation for the body switch (they just wish simultaneously), but that's better than the remake where they use "strange Asian voodoo" to make the plot happen. (2.5/5)

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

this is a funny little movie and the Mom especially is a riot.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/13/22

Full Review

Audience Member

A mother and daughter who don't see eye to eye, switch places in their lives for a day. Some of the situations that the two find themselves in are over exaggerated for comedic effect. For me this made the movie less engaging, as I felt the real world situations might have been more interesting. Barbara Harris, who plays the mother, and a young Jodie Foster, who plays the daughter, do a good job of playing another character when the two switch bodies. But, they didn't seem to play each other very well, just a different character. The father, played by John Astin, was a "male chauvinist pig", but that plot line really didn't resolve and he got his way most often. Maybe that was social commentary, I'm not sure. I also feel that since this was remade in the 1990's, that this version is too dated to connect with today's audience. If it sounds like something up your alley, then check it out.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

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Gary Nelson

Director

Barbara Harris

Ellen Andrews

Jodie Foster

Annabel Andrews

John Astin

William Waring Andrews

Patsy Kelly

Mrs. Schmauss

Vicki Schreck

Virginia

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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

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

Joseph Gelmis

Gannett News Service

The movie manages to make the personality switch mildly effective. And the actresses are so accomplished that it's a pleasure to watch them going through fairly predictable material.

Jul 9, 2019

Full Review

Heather Boerner

Common Sense Media

Endearing '76 original may feel outdated to kids.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 18, 2010

Full Review

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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
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

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