I first watched this film in the cinema over thirty years ago and I don't think I'd seen it since so when I saw it was going to be on television I thought it was time to watch it again; apart from the basic premise I couldn't remember much about it so wasn't sure what to expect. The plot is fairly simple; thirteen year old Annabel Andrews and her mother have an argument one Friday morning and start think about how the other one doesn't understand how hard their lives are compared the easy life they lead
the next thing that happens is the wish they could spend a day in the others body and suddenly that happens! Annabel is back home in her mother's body and Mrs Andrews is with Annabel's friends in her body. Inevitably each of them discovers that the other's life is much more difficult than they realised; they also learn a few facts about themselves along the way. Things get more stressful later in the day when Annabel's father asks her to supply a buffet for a business event when she can't cook
it could be worse though; his wife is going to have to put on a water-skiing display! At this point the two women wish they could be back in their own bodies; they get this but not quite how they wanted it.
Watching this again I was surprised how much I enjoyed it; several moments were laugh out loud funny and the acting from leading ladies, Barbara Harris as the mother and Jodie Foster as Annabel was great; looking at this early performance it isn't that surprising that Jodie Foster went onto become one of the best actresses of her generation. The film isn't without its flaws; the worst being the special effects and green screen shot; they may have been passable in 1976 but they looked very dated now, thankfully there weren't too many such shots. As the film progresses towards the end it does get a bit silly but that doesn't matter as it was pretty funny; I'm sure these scenes will be the favourite for younger viewers. Being a Disney film there is nothing to offend and is suitable for viewers of all ages; a proper family film.
Watching this again I was surprised how much I enjoyed it; several moments were laugh out loud funny and the acting from leading ladies, Barbara Harris as the mother and Jodie Foster as Annabel was great; looking at this early performance it isn't that surprising that Jodie Foster went onto become one of the best actresses of her generation. The film isn't without its flaws; the worst being the special effects and green screen shot; they may have been passable in 1976 but they looked very dated now, thankfully there weren't too many such shots. As the film progresses towards the end it does get a bit silly but that doesn't matter as it was pretty funny; I'm sure these scenes will be the favourite for younger viewers. Being a Disney film there is nothing to offend and is suitable for viewers of all ages; a proper family film.