The true power of any movie is the reaction it sparks in the viewer. Last night I saw “13 Going On 30” and really liked the film. I had my suspicions it was going to be a rip-off of “Big”. In truth it took a genre of film that has almost been beat to death and made the idea fresh. Jennifer Garner does a great job of playing a little girl trapped in an adult world. Mark Ruffalo also put in a strong performance as her romantic interest.
If you haven’t seen the previews yet, it is basically the story of girl named Jenna who is trying desperately to get in with the in crowd at her middle school. After a disaster at her 13th birthday party, she makes a wish to be “30, fabulous and flirty”. The movie then flashes forward to 2004. Jenna is everything she thought she wanted. Yet the first person she seeks out in this fabulous new world is her best friend Matt.
Jenna finds Matt and quickly learns that they stopped talking 17 years ago. She sacrificed the most important relationship in her life to become someone she ultimately ends up despising. So this movie got me thinking. Would a 13-year-old version of me approve of the man I’ve become? This film begs a lot of questions about what we have given up and forgotten in our quests to become adults.
In all honesty, the film probably isn’t going to win any awards. It may not even be that good. I remember seeing “Big” when I was 12 and now I’m watching this film with 30 quickly approaching. I really enjoyed seeing a similar message for the first time once as a child back in 1988 and now as an adult in 2004. It felt like an opportunity to revisit the same movie from two different perspectives.
So if you don’t mind being stuck for days dreaming about being a kid in the 80s, then give this movie a chance. If you fall somewhere between 25 and 35 then it will likely have some appeal for you. If you’ve ever mixed Pop Rocks and soda or wore two color Converse, then this film will take you back. Just be forewarned you might start to wonder where that kid inside you has run off too.
If you haven’t seen the previews yet, it is basically the story of girl named Jenna who is trying desperately to get in with the in crowd at her middle school. After a disaster at her 13th birthday party, she makes a wish to be “30, fabulous and flirty”. The movie then flashes forward to 2004. Jenna is everything she thought she wanted. Yet the first person she seeks out in this fabulous new world is her best friend Matt.
Jenna finds Matt and quickly learns that they stopped talking 17 years ago. She sacrificed the most important relationship in her life to become someone she ultimately ends up despising. So this movie got me thinking. Would a 13-year-old version of me approve of the man I’ve become? This film begs a lot of questions about what we have given up and forgotten in our quests to become adults.
In all honesty, the film probably isn’t going to win any awards. It may not even be that good. I remember seeing “Big” when I was 12 and now I’m watching this film with 30 quickly approaching. I really enjoyed seeing a similar message for the first time once as a child back in 1988 and now as an adult in 2004. It felt like an opportunity to revisit the same movie from two different perspectives.
So if you don’t mind being stuck for days dreaming about being a kid in the 80s, then give this movie a chance. If you fall somewhere between 25 and 35 then it will likely have some appeal for you. If you’ve ever mixed Pop Rocks and soda or wore two color Converse, then this film will take you back. Just be forewarned you might start to wonder where that kid inside you has run off too.
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