6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A mother and daughter switch bodies with hilarious results.
Starring: Barbara Harris (I), Jodie Foster, John Astin, Patsy Kelly, Dick Van PattenFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 44% |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.75:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (320 kbps)
BDInfo
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Freaky Friday is the film adaptation of the book of the same name written by Mary Rodgers, who also penned the screenplay for this film adaptation. The film is an agreeable one, obviously one of the trendsetters for the similarly themed films that would follow in the 1980s (notably Like Father, Like Son and Vice Versa). The film stars Barbara Harris and a young Jodie Foster, both of whom would receive Golden Globe nominations for their dual roles as both mother and daughter.
Freaky Friday's Blu-ray, exclusive to the Disney online movie club, looks fairly good, as has been the norm for the studio's yellow-boxed releases. The image impresses right off the bat. Even over the animated open, grain is evident, clarity is excellent, and colors soar. Those qualities hold to the transition to live action following the opening titles. The image is enjoyably filmic. Grain is a little sharp, but the picture is polished and nicely detailed. The 1080p resolution boosts clarity of essential qualities like clothes, hair, skin, and environmental details: brick, pavement, and grass outside the home, carpet and furnishings inside, as well as odds and ends that are critical to the movie's various scenes, like typewriter details or fine animal hairs. Colors are excellent. Look at the 20-minute mark when Annabel-as-Ellen and Bill leave the house. The green grass is amazingly vibrant and well saturated. Red makeup accents impress, while general clothing color, skin tones, and black levels all hold up very well. There are precious few encode artifacts and print wear is kept a bare minimum. This is a very nice release from Disney.
Freaky Friday's Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack does enough to get the listener through the movie, but this is a listen absent any bells or whistles. The track attempts to image towards the center, and largely succeeds. It's a fairly shallow track, however, and there's very little range. Dialogue is tinny and the inner voice narration particularly so (though it predisposes to that type of effect), but vocal exchanges, too, lack the clarity and distinction of the best tracks. Music is cramped and absent flair, but core detailing is adequate. A few support effects help to sonically shape several scenes but lack any sort of soaring distinction.
This Disney Store exclusive release of Freaky Friday contains no bonus content. No DVD or digital copies are included, either.
What Freaky Friday lacks in fundamentals it makes up for with charm and good lead performances. It's probably the classic of the body-swapping genre and still offers several good laughs, even if the movie is hopelessly dated more than four decades after its release. This featureless Blu-ray, exclusive to the online Disney Movie Club, delivers healthy video and adequate audio. Recommended.
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