The Parent Trap (1998)

The Parent Trap (1998)

7/10

Starring

Lindsay Lohan

Dennis Quaid

Natasha Richardson

Directed by Nancy Meyers

The Parent Trap is a joyful film and one of my guilty pleasures, thanks to the cuteness of Lindsay Lohan in the movie. Her presence in this film is felt throughout, as she owned every scene she was in. Lindsay Lohan was the soul of the movie, and this performance, along with her role in Freaky Friday (2003), remains her best and most memorable.

Her portrayal of two different characters is something to be celebrated. I recall seeing this movie way back in 1998 and thinking, at the time, that I was watching two different people—all because Lindsay Lohan was just that amazing. That said, she’s no Hayley Mills, who did the same thing in the 1961 version. Mills, in her portrayal of dual roles, set a standard and placed the bar way too high for even Lohan’s incredible performance to reach.

The movie is all fun, with references made in songs and dialogue to the 1961 Disney original. The late Natasha Richardson was fantastic in this movie as the girls’ mother, and I’ll always look back at this film in remembrance of her. This 1998 rom-com was directed by Nancy Meyers, who also produced and wrote one of my favorite comedies, Father of the Bride (1991), and its sequel in 1995.

The movie follows the story of a couple, Nick (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth (Natasha Richardson), who decide to divorce after having twin girls. Their arrangement is that each parent will keep one girl as they go their separate ways—Nick to California, USA, and Elizabeth to London, England.

Ironically, and unknown to both parents, they send their daughters to the same all-girls camp, where the girls, Annie and Hallie (both played by Lindsay Lohan), meet. The girls spend enough time together to discover that they’re sisters and decide to switch places, doing everything they can to get their family back together.

Shot in both London and San Francisco with a budget of $15.5 million, the movie was a financial success, earning over $92 million at the box office. The film won Lohan a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film.

Here’s a fun fact: Joanna Barnes, who plays Meredith Blake’s mother, also played the role of Vicki Robinson—the Meredith of the 1961 original. The movie also makes references to 101 Dalmatians (1961 animation), calling Meredith “Cruella de Vil.”

This is the second Walt Disney adaptation of Erich Kästner’s German novel Lottie and Lisa (Das doppelte Lottchen). The movie is very similar to its predecessor, but the actors found a way to make it their own. This version is more than 80% similar to the original, whose screenplay was written by David Swift.

This is a movie to see and enjoy with your family.