The spunky Lindsay Lohan, the lead in Disney's remake of THE PARENT TRAP is one of the best new actresses in years. A stunning 11 year-old redhead with a freckled face, she charms the audience in her every scene. Rather than attempting to recreate the Hayley Mills role from the 1961 classic, she brings her own vivacious freshness to make it a completely different movie, albeit with the same plot.
Whether you like the original movie or not, you will love the delightful remake. Part comedy and part romance, the movie can even bring the audience to tears with its considerations of the bonds that exist between parent and child.
The film's lovely script is by Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer, the writing team for the wonderful FATHER OF THE BRIDE movies. They have a talent for blending in just enough silly comedy to win the hearts of the youngest members of the audience, while still keeping the story intelligent and the characters richly drawn. Meyers, who tries her hand at directing for the first time in this film, has a good sense of timing and a knack for staging that ranges from the sweet to the slapstick without ever going overboard.
In the story, two twins, Hallie Parker and Annie James, both played by Lindsay Lohan in a seamless bit of Disney magic, are off to the same camp. Hallie lives with her dad, played by Dennis Quaid in one of his better performances, on the estate of his sumptuous Napa Valley vineyard. In contrast, Annie and her mother Elizabeth, played charmingly by Natasha Richardson, live in the hustle and bustle of central London, where Elizabeth is a wedding dress designer.
Both families are rich enough to have their own butlers, although Americans would never call them such, of course, since it would imply some sort of class system. Martin (Simon Kunz) works for the mother, and Chessy (Lisa Ann Walter) is employed by the father. Both have more than enough personality to be the stars of their own movies. They are more like part of the family than hired help, and they significantly add to rather than merely complement the storyline.
The setup for the plot is that the girls do not know they are twins and have never seen their other parent. After a fencing match at camp, they are shocked to pull off their masks to see their own reflection in the other person's face. Thinking at first that they only look alike but aren't related, they begin playing a series of practical jokes on each other in an intense but good-hearted version of peer rivalry. These scenes will send the younger members of the audience rolling in giggles, but they are done with enough class to amuse the adults as well.
Putting together a torn picture from the QE2 of a single parent each, they realize their kinship. In a scene that may put goose pimples on your skin, they hug each other voraciously. Imagine being an only child and meeting the twin whom you never knew you had. Wanting never to be torn asunder again, they devise a plan to bring their divorced parents back together. By swapping places, each will get to meet the other parent. And when their trickery is discovered, the parents will be forced to meet when they unswap them.
The girls have such genuine chemistry for each other that the audience is rooting for them to pull off their big scheme. And when the scenes occur where they meet their other parent for the first time, don't be surprised if you get a little teary eyed. Each thinks their new parent is nothing short of terrific.
From this point on, the story has the good judgement to focus more on the relationship than the gimmicks of the impersonations. Still, the old game of "which twin is which" is fun.
Next to the standout performance by Lindsay Lohan is the acting by Elaine Hendrix as the 26-year-old gold digger, Meredith Blake, who has set her sights on marrying Nick's money. Driving a red BMW convertible, talking incessantly on her cell phone, and generally fawning all over Nick, Meredith sees dollar signs behind every grapevine. Impeccably dressed, she is light years away from being interested in becoming a soccer mom. She plans to ship Hallie off to boarding school at the first possible opportunity. When the two twins start conniving ways to eliminate her, the film is at its comedic best.
Perhaps the most amazing part of THE PARENT TRAP is its universal appeal. It will delight all sexes and ages, even adults with no children. Few films can pull this off, but THE PARENT TRAP does with almost complete success.
THE PARENT TRAP runs 2:03. It is rated PG for reasons that are not immediately obvious, and the movie should appeal to all ages.
By : Steve Rhodes
Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup
Rating: 4
Synopsis: THE PARENT TRAP is a Disney remake of the 1961 Disney movie of the same name. In the 1998 version , Lindsay Lohan plays two twins named Annie and Hallie who were separated shortly after birth, and raised by each single parent, respectively. For example, Annie was raised by her mother, a Londoner, so she has never met her American father. Meanwhile Hallie was raised by her American father, so she has never met her British mother.
By coincidence the twins meet each other at a summer camp, and after a prank-filled rivalry, Annie and Hallie come to realize that they are actually sisters. Filled with curiosity about the parents they never met, they decide to switch places, one going to London while the other to California. Soon afterwards, they hatch plots to reunite their divorced parents and live as one happy family.
Opinion: THE PARENT TRAP is one of those lighthearted, highly entertaining family-values comedies that people of any age can enjoy. It has slapstick pranks, family reunions, romance, and an exciting fencing match. And to top it off, the heroes are kids and the parents are the same age (instead of the typical 90s movie pairing of ancient sugar daddy with hot-bodied young gal).
The talented Lindsay Lohan is effective and charming playing two different eleven-year-old girls: Annie and Hallie. Lohan does so well at it that she easily persuades us she is two different people, who, through eerily coincidental characteristics, come to realize they are twins, although they've been raised oceans apart. Come to think of it, every character in THE PARENT TRAP - - from Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson as the parents to hired servants Lisa Ann Walter and Simon Kunz - - manages to be warmly funny and appealing without stealing the show or going over the top.
We're all used to disappointing Hollywood remakes, but thankfully, THE PARENT TRAP is quite refreshing and fun. Everyone does such a top notch and balanced job in THE PARENT TRAP that the 1998 version is just as good or better than the original.
