Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich, Emily Holder, Alan Ruck, Nicholas Stargel, Kelly Lamor Wilson, Mitchell Hoog, Dana Drori, Katie Finneran, Alonzo Ward, Dustin Lewis, Jennifer Pierce Mathus, Uriah Shelton, Melissa Collazo, Zack Shires, Magnus Diehl, Dane Davenport, Nick Arapoglou, Charles Green, Michelle Ladd, Don Starlings, Brooke Jaye Taylor, Sarafina King, Tim Johnson, Carter W Glade, Ezra Sexton, Maria Sager.

Body swaps are all the rage, and no matter if you remember Lindsay Lohan when she was the darling of cinema, Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris in the original screenplay of Mary Rodgers’ 1972 best-selling novel, Freaky Friday is one of the feel good experiences of gender recognition and of the argument of who has it harder, the daughter or the mother, the father or the son; or in the case of The Butcher and a young woman called Millie, see just how the other one slays in the Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy conceived film, Freaky.

In many ways this original take of the body swap phenomenon is one that catches the eye, not a single moment is lost, and even in the saccharine sweet reveals there is an element of outlandish ghoulishness that makes it feel worth the drama of the modern young experience when faced with the question of their own mortality, and the subtext that weaves its way through is the hardship inflicted by the ‘boomer and Generation X’ as they systematically inflict pain on those whose life has just begun.

Whichever way you decide to view Freaky, its premise, and the contributions of Vince Vaughn as The Butcher, Kathryn Newton as Millie, and Alan Ruck as Millie’s tormenting workshop tutor, or via the definition of its moral standpoint, it is a film that plays up well to its original belief, just with the extra addition of having murderous intentions from the start.

There is no denying the comedic element woven through the screenplay, and whilst in other hands a middle aged man playing up to the stereotypes of a teenage girl might be considered the wrong side of acceptable, and perhaps even gross, in Vince Vaughn it comes across as sincere and understanding, he captures the ideal of a shy persona and the toughness required to break free of the damage caused by bullies, student and teacher alike, and turn Millie’s life around, to give her hope despite her own body being taken over by the wrath of a killer.

It is perhaps to Alan Ruck though that the film has its edge, an actor who has made comedy his diet of choice, turning on the ability to give a tremendous, albeit brief, performance as the teacher bordering on sadistic personality. In his moments on screen as Mr. Bernardi.

If the grass is greener on the other side of the lawn, the staple notion of the body swap film, then this one is drenched in blood and blade, and one in Freaky that the horror fan will get on board with and the comedy enthusiast will generously dedicate with praise.

Ian D. Hall