tek's rating: ¾

The Parent Trap (PG)
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This is a 1998 remake of the 1961 film of the same name. I didn't see it until 2024. It's almost a beat-by-beat remake, with just a few changes, such as the characters' names. It's a good movie, but I can't help feeling it was a bit unnecessary.

It begins with a montage of a man and woman named Nick Parker and Elizabeth James meeting and falling in love on the QE2. Then the story flashes forward 11 years and 9 months to a bunch of girls arriving at a summer camp. The main two girls are Hallie Parker and Annie James (both played by Lindsay Lohan, in her film debut). They don't like each other at first, but eventually discover that they're twins. They decide to switch places when they each return home; Annie goes to Hal's home in Napa, and Hal goes to Annie's home in London. Hal meets her mother, Elizabeth, for the first time, as well as her grandfather, and their butler, Martin, with whom Annie has a close friendship. Meanwhile, Annie meets her father, Nick, as well as their housekeeper, Chessy. (Throughout the film I thought she was named "Jessie".) Annie also meets a woman named Meredith Blake, whom her father is dating. When she finds out they plan to get married, she calls Hal and gets her to bring their mother to California in the hopes that Nick and Elizabeth will fall in love again. Martin accompanies them, and he and Chessy immediately take an interest in each other.

That's pretty much all I want to say about the plot. I thought all the actors did a good job, especially Lohan. And in general it was fun to watch. Some aspects of it might even be a bit better than the original, but on the whole I found the original more enjoyable and memorable. But I'm glad I've finally seen the remake.


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