Look, I know what you’re thinking. While we are all firmly seated for the Lindsey Lohan-aissance, Freaky Friday didn’t really need a sequel. And sure, that’s partly true, but above all, Freakier Friday is fun.
As the title implies, it takes everything good about Freaky Friday and doesn’t just double it — but quadruples it. Some might call it derivative as a result, but in my opinion, Freakier Friday and perhaps the Freaky Friday-iverse as a whole can teach us a thing or two.
As well as introducing us to the icons that are Pink Slip, Freaky Friday told us that before we judge another, we should always walk a mile in their shoes — or, in the case of the first film, ride that mile on the back of Chad Michael Murray’s motorbike. Like anyone with taste, I really enjoyed the mishaps and campiness that are inherent to Freaky Friday. But the premise? A total nightmare.
The autism experience
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The only shoes I want to be walking in are my own, thank you very much. The same pair of shoes, too. This is because I’m autistic, and like many people on the spectrum, there’s nothing I hate more than change. I like eating the same breakfast, wearing the same clothes, and generally, having things operate as predictably as possible. So, the idea of having to live a whole other person’s life in a different body is one of the worst things I can imagine. So, while I knew I would enjoy the film on some level, I didn’t expect it to really resonate with me in any way.
But I soon realised that, when you think about it, Freakier Friday has some parallels with the autism experience. Or, at least, my experience. For one, I often find myself feeling out of place. It feels like everyone has been secretly rehearsing a play called ‘Adulthood’ and knows that script from cover to cover. Meanwhile, I’m out there on stage in my poorly-fitted grown-up costume doing such a bad job that I’m being pelted from all angles with tomatoes.
A baptism of fire
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Similarly, whether it was the teenagers pretending to be adults or the adults pretending to be teenagers, Freakier Friday involved this element of performance where you had to convince all these beady eyes that you do, in fact, belong in the same room as them. There’s no script for being a person, yet, as the film shows, that doesn’t really matter. As they improvise in challenging situations, the Coleman/Davies clan demonstrate that sometimes, approaching things from your own unique perspective is exactly what’s needed. Convention isn’t always the answer.
There’s also the fact that, in essence, the swapped characters are receiving a baptism of fire. They find themselves thrust into a completely alien way of life without any kind of warning, which, for me, is what every single new social situation feels like. While the characters struggle at first, they’re ultimately able to adapt through this exposure. Sure, the change is hard at first, but these characters are able to not just survive, but thrive. And if they can do it, maybe I can, too.
Empathy and identity
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We’ve already touched upon how Freakier Friday and Freaky Friday are about learning to understand other people. By switching bodies, these characters are able to learn about the nuances they each have. They discovered things about each other’s lives they weren’t aware of before, and how these complexities fed into the way they present in day-to-day life. Fundamentally, it’s all about empathy.
While we should obviously be empathetic towards everyone, neurodiverse or not, I feel like this lesson is especially important when it comes to encountering autistic people in day-to-day life. We tend to have a few more quirks than most, so seeing a film with a core message about embracing and celebrating others despite their quirks is all the more meaningful.
And then there’s the age thing. Sure, the cracks about Jamie Lee Curtis’ age get a little (ironically) old as the film goes on, but seeing three generations of women learning to love life in equal measure definitely soothed my quarter-life crisis. To me, the movie emphasised that we should be secure in not just our identity, but our whole lives, which, in my opinion, is an important message for any age.
When all is said and done, both neurodivergent and neurotypical audiences would benefit from seeing Freakier Friday, and we don’t need an ‘earthquake’ to prove that.
Freakier Friday is out now in cinemas. UK readers can buy tickets from Cineworld , Vue and Odeon . Those in the US can get them from AMC Theatres and Fandango .
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Author: Charlotte Colombo, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Charlotte Colombo is a freelance journalist with bylines in Metro.co.uk, Radio Times, The Independent, Daily Dot, Glamour, Stylist, and VICE, among others. She previously worked as a Staff Writer for entertainment outlet The Digital Fix and with Business Insider and Dexerto on their digital culture desks. She’s also appeared on BBC Radio 5 and The Guardian podcast to share her expertise on technology, influencers, and niche internet subcultures. She holds an MA in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London.
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