When the Freaky Friday sequel was first announced last year with Linday Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis (and pretty much the entire main cast) returning, our millennial hearts skipped a beat. For a lot of us, the 2003 film and its rebellious, guitar-swinging protagonist hit at a time of peak girlhood. It was relatable, it was humorous, and like most LL movies of that era, it became an instant classic that we’re still quoting and referencing today.
Taking place 22 years after the initial body swap, Freakier Friday, directed by Nisha Ganatra, finds Anna (Lohan) as a successful music exec with a teen daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter, and Tess (Curtis) is continuing to build on her therapy empire. Once again navigating the trials and tribulations of merging families, they soon discover lightning can strike twice.
The sequel is everything you’d expect and more—nostalgic and silly while successfully pushing the narrative forward for a new generation. It has notable fashion moments galore (including a very fun makeover montage), Vanessa Bayer (who is bonkers as a jack-of-all-trades fortune teller), a Pink Slip reunion (with a new single!), and two exciting breakout leads in Julia Butters and Sophia Hammons, who play Anna’s daughter Harper and future stepdaughter Lily, respectively.
Disney alum Hammons (Under Wraps and Under Wraps 2) is an immediate standout as Lily, an aspiring fashion designer hailing from London who has zero interest in gaining a new family. Her outfits are as good as her cutting one-liners, and the way Hammons embodies Tess (aka Curtis) as Lily with her physical comedy is so fun to watch.
Fittingly, we met with Hammons on a Friday to talk about her role in the summer’s most anticipated film.
This movie is everything you’d expect and more. It’s super nostalgic. Vanessa Bayer is amazing. Pink Slip returns—I loved. And it genuinely looked like so much fun to film. How would you sum it up?
It really was just a whole summer of fun and chaos but in the best, most endearing way. All of us truly did bond, everyone on that set, and it was so lovely to work with such talented women. It was a great environment, very welcoming, especially for Julia and I. Jamie and Lindsay have done this before, but it was so new for us, especially because we’re also playing them. They were so sweet and really did take care of us.
The original film came out in 2003, which was three years before you were even born. When did it first pop up on your radar?
I think I saw it for the first time when I was like 12 or 13, so [it was] also a very pivotal moment in girlhood. I just remember it being such a comfort film and so funny. It really is just a fun, funny film, and I remember when I watched the first one. That is how I felt about it. It made me laugh. It’s one that I would go back to.
It’s such an iconic film for us millennials, but it’s nice to hear it resonates with a Gen Z audience too.
That iconic storyline—body-swap movies—I always link them to Freaky Friday. There’s an original, which is also great, but when I think of any body-swap movie, I think of Lindsay and Jamie. It was a phenomenon.
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