The Parent Trap (1998)As a kid, I remember watching the 1961 version of The Parent Trap. It was very entertaining, but there was something that nagged me about it. I didn't really care for Hayley Mills, the star. Sure, she made the revenge scenes pleasurable, but when she started to set her parents up, she got tedious. And then she sung. Well, that made it quite annoying. So I'm more than happy to say that they have remade that film with a completely different star, and she's well worth the trip to the theaters.
Lately, there have been quite a few versions of this story, including It Takes Two which starred one of the most annoying pair of actors to ever jump in front of a camera: the Olsen twins. Of course, Kirstie Alley made up for some of that. But here is a film from one of the best Disney-remakers (for lack of a better word) to hit Hollywood in years. A while ago, Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer brought us the remake to Father of the Bride and it became one of the most charming and funny films of the year. And now here's THE PARENT TRAP and it had me literally smiling all the way through.
THE PARENT TRAP begins with a quick summation of how Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth James (Natasha Richardson) met and broke up. Of course, they broke up after having twins. When they divorced, they split everything down the middle, including the children. Now, this actually seems like a dark premise, but the film keeps everything light and fluffy. Anyway, eleven years later, the parents are living extremely well and both decide to send their child to the same summer camp. Hallie Parker and Annie James (both played by Lindsay Lohan) meet during a fencing match but don't even believe they are twins. However, after spending the night in a room together, they discover that they both have the same birthday, the same locket, and a picture split right in the middle of the other half of their parents. It takes a while for the film to find it's tone, but after this moment, it hits every mark it aims for.
Now joined together at the hit and inseparable, Hallie and Annie concoct a scheme to go home as the other girl. Of course, this also means cutting hair and getting ears pierced. The true magic begins when the girls each meet their other parent. We first see Hallie meet her mother, and it's quite touching (I couldn't say that about the original version, that's for sure). Elizabeth is a fashion designer and Hallie, coming from California, just loves what she does for a living. She watches with fascination and even participates in some shoots. Meanwhile, Annie is meeting her dad, who lives in the country and eats in every room except the dining room. Nick is in charge of a wine-bottling company, but he has his eye on a beautiful vixen who is not at all pleased with meeting his daughter. Meredith Blake (Elaine Hendrix) is only after Nick's money, and she plans on sending Annie to boarding school as soon as they are married.
As soon as Annie finds out about the planned engagement, she phones Hallie and tells her that they must get Nick and Elizabeth together as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Hallie is having too much fun and doesn't want to tell her yet. The rest of the film is very much the same as the original. My only real complaints is that the final camping scene with Meredith is too short. And yet, the rest of the film is too long. But these are really just minor quibbles because the movie is warm and makes you smile quite a bit.
The story is very similar to the original, mostly because Nancy Meyers probably wanted to present the original to newer audiences with a more delightful cast. The special effects nowadays are much improved from 1961. Sometimes you can see lines where the actors have been combined, but for the most part they are seamless. In fact, it's usually very difficult to remember that only one actress is playing each character. Of course, it boggles me as to why they didn't just get a pair of twins to play them, but Lindsay Lohan does such a convincing job that it really doesn't matter.
Lindsay Lohan makes her debut with this film, and she is absolutely delightful. In the early scenes she seems a little stiff, but after a while, she settles into each role nicely. Lohan even creates a British/French accent for Annie, while giving Hallie a Californian attitude. Lohan goes against what most kid actors do by enveloping herself into the role completely and giving a heartfelt performance (listen up you Olsen girls). It's not just herself on screen... it's an actual character. But as good as Lohan is, the adult actors are better (well, duh), especially Dennis Quaid. Quaid's smile is a godsend to the romantic-comedy genre, and he should definitely appear in more. As stated by Elizabeth, "His smile makes me weak at the knees." Quaid suits the character nicely and provides a lot of chemistry with Natasha Richardson. Richardson is even better as the fashion designer who doesn't know how to deal with the switched kids. Richardson is absolutely hilarious in the performance, and I hope to see more of this actress who hasn't been seen on the screen since 1994's Nell. Elaine Hendrix is genuinely campy and fun as Meredith, giving one of the most entertaining villains in a Disney film for quite a while. But stealing every scene they are in are Lisa Ann Walter and Simon Kunz. Walter is the helper at Nick's home, and her quirky dialogue is accentuated by Walter's knack for dry humor. Walter is the true gem of the film. Kunz, on the other hand, has a very funny role as the butler for Elizabeth. In one scene, he walks out in a speedo, catching the eye of Walter. It's funny because, well, he's not exactly Fabio. And in a special cameo, Joanna Barnes appears who played the mother in the original The Parent Trap.
THE PARENT TRAP is rated PG for some comic violence and profanity. Director Meyers finds the perfect tone and mood for these types of films. The colors are pleasing to the eye and the actors make it all warm and huggable. The cinematography isn't harsh and the choreography is very funny, especially during the fencing scene. Note to Disney: want to remake a classic (or even a mediocre film, in this case)? Give it to Meyers and Shyers. They are certain to come away with a treasure.