Film Review - ‘The Parent Trap’

This light hearted, family film from Disney is a remake of the 1961 Hayley Mills ‘The Parent Trap’ starring Lindsay Lohan, Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid. The genre of this film would be mainly adventure/comedy but could be interpreted as a romance as well. Although not a film that teaches anything or one that you think of for days after, it’s the perfect choice for an easy going Sunday afternoon viewing. 

Hallie and Allie, both played by Lindsay Lohan, are identical twins who find themselves reunited at a summer camp. Both girls become friends after a fencing match and after a few practical jokes are sent into isolation with one another. Realising they look abnormally similar, that they share a birthday and each have a half of a torn photo of their parents... they come to the conclusion that they are twins. From here on they train each other to act as the other before succeeding go home with the ‘wrong parent’ at the end of the summer camp. Once at each other’s homes they aim to reunite their divorced parents Nick and Elizabeth (played by Richardson and Quaid), so that the new found friends and siblings can have their family back.

‘The Parent Trap’ teams witty writing from David Swift with clever direction from Nancy Meyers. Its humorous one liners such as Quaid’s ‘So how exactly are we paying for this all?’ and Lohan’s ‘I have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea’ make it enjoyable for both children and parents. Whilst its two main protagonists being played by the same actor offer a unique spin on a film. Lindsay Lohan plays both Allie and Hallie well and makes the characters not only relatable but loveable.  However despite Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson playing the separated parents convincingly, this film wouldn’t be one of their best works. Whilst both suited the role of parents their on-off relationship was also very unrealistic, and the film showed no reason as to why the two separated in the first place. However with 'The Parent Trap' targeted at children I can see this was to achieve a fairy tale style ending. Overall, the film's supporting cast was chosen well such as Elaine Hendrix starring as the villain and Lisa Ann Walter as the housekeeper whom we come to know and love throughout the twins' escapade.

This film, rated PG, can be enjoyed by anyone like most of Disney’s others. I like this film because it’s an easy watch with an ending that leaves you feeling content. Overall, I would rate this film 7/10 and would recommend it to anyone who wants to avoid modern films that can sometimes seem desperate to be funny.