Take us away because we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of Freaky Friday (2003), the iconic Disney flick starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter who swap bodies and are forced to live in each other’s shoes. Throughout their day, they have their run-ins with school bullies, interesting therapy clientele, and love interests while navigating talk show appearances, wedding rehearsal dinners and band auditions. Buckle in for this episode because it starts off with Kaitlyn and Jeremy swapping bodies, themselves! Plus, since we’re talking about a Disney movie, Jeremy tries not to use any naughty words. The results are interesting.

During our discussion of Freaky Friday (2003), we talk about:

• Comparisons to the other versions of Freaky Friday, including the 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers, 1976 original film starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster, the 1995 made-for-TV film starring Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann, the 2016 stage musical starring Heidi Blickenstaff and Emma Hunton, and the 2018 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Blickenstaff and Cozi Zuehlsdorff.
• How the “body-swap genre” works better in TV and film vs. books, plus callbacks to memorable body-swap stories on Charmed and (of course) Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• Chad Michael Murray rocking long hair.
• Is it ethical for Jake to date Anna? Is Jake even a student??
• Problematic depictions about mental health and the use of the word “crazy” in an ableist context.
• Racist Asian stereotypes behind Pei Pei (Rosalind Chao), Pei Pei’s mom (Lucille Soong), and the staff of the House of Chang restaurant.
• Surprise! The Pink Slit song, “Take Me Away,” performed by Christina Vidal is actually a cover of a song by the Australian alternative punk rock group, Lash.
• Justice for Christina Vidal’s one-season wonder Nickelodeon television show, Taina!
• Our personal experiences with “earthquakes” (note the giant air quotes!).
• More talk about how Gen Z doesn’t use flat sheets, for some reason.
• How the Stacey (Julie Gonzalo) character doesn’t really receive her comeuppance...except she does in a deleted scene that we didn’t know about until after we finished recording.
• Kaitlyn getting very offended seeing a teacher do a crossword puzzle in the teacher’s lounge.
• Jamie Lee Curtis being gender goals.
• This movie’s connection to the original Freaky Friday film from 1976.
• The Bowling for Soup cover of “...Baby One More Time,” which triggers lots of Britney Spears talk.
• That time Chad Michael Murray made out with Jamie Lee Curtis (Quick fact check: Jeremy incorrectly stated that the interview was with Entertainment Tonight. It was actually Busy Tonight!)
• Whether this movie really needed Chad Michael Murray’s character.
• A potential Freaky Friday 2?

You can listen to the full episode by subscribing at the $5 level over at patreon.com/alwaysothpod.

We’re Kaitlyn Ilinitch (@MissIReads) and Jeremy Rodriguez (@RodriguezJeremy) and you can find Always and Forever on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @alwaysothpod or email us at [email protected].

Listen to our previous episodes of Baker Soundstage below:

Scream (2022)

The Notebook

A Cinderella Story

John Tucker Must Die

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