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FREAKY FRIDAY was one of several vehicles Disney crafted for future star Jodie Foster, when the precocious teen actress was under that company's tutelage. Her adult demeanor serves her well, playing a thirteen year old inhabited by her mother's personality. The real joy in this slapsticky farce is Barbara Harris, whose brand of humor is gainfully employed as the irrepressible Annabelle, stuck in her mother's body. This and FAMILY PLOT are probably Harris' most readily available films. Too bad Harris didn't make more.

While the remake with Curtis and Lohan was good and Hollywood smooth with better production values (so what), the main difference is in the lead actors. I mean you know Jodie Foster can act circles around Lindsay Lohan (who couldn't) but the main difference is in the moms. Jaime Lee Curtis is a savvy pro who has her own take on the role but it's pretty flat in comparison. Barbara Harris I didn't remember from her small roles in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Peggy Sue Got Married but now that my memory has been jogged, she did a fine job. This movie, though, is her tour-de-force. What a fantastic performance. She is flawless and incredibly funny in this role. As fine a comedic turn as anyone has ever done; the nuances of voice, the facial expressions, the slapstick - all spot on.

Jodie Foster is no slouch either. Her teenage roles have showed maturity beyond her years and a thorough understanding of her roles. She shines in this one. The supporting cast is well chosen and they're all good too.

I can see why they remade it, though. Todays kids don't usually get into old movies so with a box office cinch like Lohan, why not? I like a lot of the 60's and 70's movies since that is my generation and subsequently have trouble enjoying the 30's and 40's movies. But a good movie is a good movie no matter when it was made.

If you changed personalities with your kid--actually found yourself in his or her body--would you spend the rest of the day in school? If you found yourself in your mother's body, would you bother cooking a meal for your husband's corporate buffet? Disney's "Freaky Friday", adapted by Mary Rodgers from her popular young adult novel, doesn't quite work; there's no awe in the circumstance involved--just lessons to be learned. Mom Barbara Harris earns points for daughter Jodie Foster at school, while Foster (in Harris' body) gets closer to the guy next door. Both leads are very good however, and Harris is wonderful calling her husband "Daddy" (with a quick switch to "Bill, Dear") and later playing a hot game of softball with a group of boys (while chewing bubblegum AND smoking a cigarette). Foster has some funny outbursts but generally has less to work with (she screws up a typing class, a photography class, band practice and field hockey, but does great in social studies). The movie is far too long, with inertia setting in right about the time Harris is called to the principal's office to discuss her daughter's schoolwork. The slapstick finale, a painful "Love Bug" flashback, is pure juvenalia (complete with a magic twist that makes no sense--not even in this movie's universe), yet the picture was a blockbuster anyway. **1/2 from ****

This movie, unlike the two so called remakes actually follows the book. My kids have all loved this movie and had no trouble at all relating to the incidents.Sure they have typing class instead of computer class but so what? So what if the Mom stays home and the Dad works. Many families do that today. The brother appears to be in half day kindergarten because he is picked up from school before lunch. Maybe Mom will go back to work next year. It may be a bit dated but that doesn't detract from the movie at all.

Unlike many modern movies the kids are not smart mouthed brats who get away with such behavior. There are no gross jokes or rude, stupid humor.

This is a fun movie for families, especially mothers and daughters to watch together. I would recommend this over the other two because it's how the author intended the story.

This is definitely one of the very best of Disney's many comedies. Perhaps it's the great writing from Mary Rodgers, author of the book, or the spectacular acting from the entire cast, especially a young Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris.

The film is incredibly funny, without being stupid, and it feels very real and authentic, an element that is gone from almost every other Disney film of the era. Although it includes the typical Disney chase scene, the rest of Disney's usual cliches are dropped so that the focus is on the characters and the believable and hilarious situations that they get into.

A definite 10/10! Go rent it! Be sure that you get the 1977 version, though, not the 1995 remake.