Who Had ‘Freakier Friday’ Being The ‘Terminator 2’ Of The Series On Their Bingo Card?

In 2003, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Tess Coleman switched bodies with Lindsay Lohan’s Anna Coleman in Freaky Friday.

The story sees mother and daughter experience life from the other’s perspective until they learn how to respect each other – only then do they return to their own bodies. It hits on a personal level with viewers, as most people have felt frustrated as either a parent or child that their point-of-view isn’t being considered and wishes the other could see why they do or say what they do. It’s also such a feel-good movie of the 2000s, never failing to bring a smile or laugh when you watch it.

Now, in 2025, the sequel, Freakier Friday, rolls by. Expectedly, it can’t do the same thing as its predecessor, so it expands the body switching dilemma to include another two people: Anna’s daughter and Tess’ granddaughter, Harper (Julia Butters), and Anna’s soon-to-stepdaughter, Lily (Sophia Hammons). In this instance, Tess swaps bodies with Lily, while Anna swaps with Harper. What happens as a result? Well, no one could have seen this coming, but someone better give Pink Slip the money to write a song about it because Freakier Friday is even better than the original movie!

‘Freakier Friday’ lays down even more drama

The original Freaky Friday focused on the mother-daughter dynamic, exploring the nature of the relationship between Tess and Anna. It’s a trend that expands and develops in Freakier Friday. While Tess and Anna appear to be on better footing than before, they still disagree with each other here and there. In this instance, it’s mostly about Harper. Tess tries to help Anna, who’s a single mother, but Anna feels smothered by Tess. For Anna, she wants to find her own way through motherhood.

In Harper’s case, she’s not pleased that Anna is about to marry Eric (Manny Jacinto) and move them to England. Matters aren’t made any better after Tess tells Harper she can stay with her if she wants. Then, there’s Lily, who might seem like the odd one out, but she’s extremely important. For Lily, she hasn’t quite come to terms with her mother’s death, and she isn’t exactly thrilled about the new family that comes with Anna marrying Eric. Lily would much rather go back to it just being her and her father – without Anna and Harper.

Yeah, it’s a lot of drama – which means it makes Freakier Friday that much more unpredictable with four people clamoring for their own interests. It’s even more saucy since Harper and Lily join forces to see if they can stop Anna from marrying Eric. Since they’re in adult bodies now, they hold all the cards in this unexpected situation. What’s funny is that Harper and Lily are way more hardcore toward their parents’ relationship than Anna was to Tess and Ryan’s (Mark Harmon) in Freaky Friday. Anna might not have been thrilled about Tess marrying Ryan, but sheesh – these girls work hard to split their parents until they come to the realization that they’re actually right for each other.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are absolutely hilarious when they act as teenagers

Everyone remembers the chuckles they got out of Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis acting the other’s age in Freaky Friday. Yet, whatever they did in 2003 pales in comparison to what they do in Freakier Friday as two Gen Zs. Without getting into spoiler territory here, neither Harper nor Lily know a thing about relationships, so it’s side-splitting to watch them trying to teach each other the art of seduction.

Lohan and Curtis don’t just lean into their roles; they embrace it from a physical standpoint as well. Not only are their lines hilarious, but both actors also put in slapstick performances to drive the message home. Curtis, in particular, appears to be having the time of her life in the role of Lily in Tess’ body. Whether she’s teaching Harper how to make sexy faces or playing around with lip fillers, Curtis refuses to take any shortcuts in convincing everyone she’s a teenager. Oh, and her chemistry with Chad Michael Murray’s Jake is still there for all to appreciate and laugh at. Who knew that they would be one of the best on-screen couples of all time?!

‘Freakier Friday’ proves that sequels can be better than the originals

In an era in which sequels are nothing more than cash-ins, or blatant regurgitations of what came before them, it’s surprising to see a film like Freakier Friday actually go one step further and further the original concept. Much like James Cameron did with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, director Nisha Ganatra does the same with Freakier Friday, producing a sequel that outperforms the original in every single way. Maybe Hollywood isn’t completely devoid of creativity after all. 

Freakier Friday laughs its way into theaters on August 8, 2025.