Body swap comedies have been around for decades with varied degrees of merit and success. It was both intriguing and pleasantly nostalgic to see someone trying to rework the formula in a new genre. Much like cinematic time travel, if its not thought out or properly tweaked, including that kind of plot device can be an invitation for audience nitpicking. Freaky is a throwback, there's a bare bones explanation and minus some exposition, you're expected to come along and not ask questions. This was a free spirited decision by the screenwriting team but it didn't bog me down or ruin the movie. If the movie is doing its job, you shouldn't be focusing on that and there are movies come out all the time where the explanation is "magic?" (Freaky Friday comes to mind but so does BIG). They do just enough to propel the story and it was silly enough to avoid too many specific questions.
With Freaky firmly being a horror/comedy does it deliver the goods on what you're looking for? We get to both almost immediately as the beginning moments of the film are also the best for me. The introduction of the killer has some brutal kills and pretty funny bits wrapped together. It sets up the tone for the rest of the film and moving ahead, you know what you're getting. While the more meta material fades to the back, Christopher Landon and his team are trying to have their cake and eat it too. They try to make an actual slasher movie while lampooning it at the same time. Freaky doesn't always gel as the best in this genre do but there are more than enough funny jokes and violent deaths to satisfy fans of slasher movies and horror/comedies.
The biggest draw for this movie other than the twist on a familiar premise is Vince Vaughn playing the co-lead. He's a funny comedian and a surprisingly talented dramatic actor but he's been in need of a career reboot for years. He was on a roll for years but the hits are fewer and farther between now. I think he's solid at pretending to be a frantic teenage girl but he was still a little too restrained. Millie is such a door mouse that despite Vaughn talking like a teenager, I thought he was still too composed. I tip my hat to him for taking on this role but he wasn't a totally seamless fit. Kathryn Newton was a lot of fun after Millie makes her switch but he's undercut by Millie's earlier scenes as well. Her being meek almost makes up her entire character, her sidekicks/friends/ family have a lot more personality. That being said, after the switch, she plays off the extreme moments with a nice wink and a nod. Celeste O'Connor and Misha Osherovich jump back and forth between portraying their respective stereotypes and instead parodying those same stereotypes. But they each had funny moments and decent comedic timing and they play off of Vince pretty well.
Freaky is decent overall and provides the requisite laughs and thrills but I was still a little let down. I'm a big fan of Landon, check out my reviews for Happy Death Day and its sequel 2U. So I went in ready to hand this movie extra points and it just never wowed me or got to that next level. I was hoping for more specific references or pointed dialogue to how ridiculous slasher movies can be but that's not the direction they wanted to go. Props to Newton and Vaughn for embracing the silliness of the premise and committing to the bit and I'll admit that I did laugh enough to make Freaky worthwhile. If you love a body swap movie and wouldn't mind a horror twist on it, I'd give it a 6.5/10 and Freaky can be checked out on your preferred streaming service.
With Freaky firmly being a horror/comedy does it deliver the goods on what you're looking for? We get to both almost immediately as the beginning moments of the film are also the best for me. The introduction of the killer has some brutal kills and pretty funny bits wrapped together. It sets up the tone for the rest of the film and moving ahead, you know what you're getting. While the more meta material fades to the back, Christopher Landon and his team are trying to have their cake and eat it too. They try to make an actual slasher movie while lampooning it at the same time. Freaky doesn't always gel as the best in this genre do but there are more than enough funny jokes and violent deaths to satisfy fans of slasher movies and horror/comedies.
The biggest draw for this movie other than the twist on a familiar premise is Vince Vaughn playing the co-lead. He's a funny comedian and a surprisingly talented dramatic actor but he's been in need of a career reboot for years. He was on a roll for years but the hits are fewer and farther between now. I think he's solid at pretending to be a frantic teenage girl but he was still a little too restrained. Millie is such a door mouse that despite Vaughn talking like a teenager, I thought he was still too composed. I tip my hat to him for taking on this role but he wasn't a totally seamless fit. Kathryn Newton was a lot of fun after Millie makes her switch but he's undercut by Millie's earlier scenes as well. Her being meek almost makes up her entire character, her sidekicks/friends/ family have a lot more personality. That being said, after the switch, she plays off the extreme moments with a nice wink and a nod. Celeste O'Connor and Misha Osherovich jump back and forth between portraying their respective stereotypes and instead parodying those same stereotypes. But they each had funny moments and decent comedic timing and they play off of Vince pretty well.
Freaky is decent overall and provides the requisite laughs and thrills but I was still a little let down. I'm a big fan of Landon, check out my reviews for Happy Death Day and its sequel 2U. So I went in ready to hand this movie extra points and it just never wowed me or got to that next level. I was hoping for more specific references or pointed dialogue to how ridiculous slasher movies can be but that's not the direction they wanted to go. Props to Newton and Vaughn for embracing the silliness of the premise and committing to the bit and I'll admit that I did laugh enough to make Freaky worthwhile. If you love a body swap movie and wouldn't mind a horror twist on it, I'd give it a 6.5/10 and Freaky can be checked out on your preferred streaming service.