The Parent Trap - movie review

The Parent Trap

Plot: Identical twins, separated at birth and each raised by one of their biological parents, discover each other for the first time at summer camp and make a plan to bring their wayward parents back together.
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson
Director: Nancy Meyers
Rating: PG
Runtime: 2hrs 8 mins
Release Date: Wednesday 29th July 1998

Long before she became the coked up, alcoholic and jail frequenter that she is today, Lindsay Lohan was once thought to be the new up and comer. With her breakout role being in The Parent Trap, many thought this young Hollywood starling would be the one to watch. Little did they know of the controversy she would face later in life. But regardless of Lohan's personal life, was her debut worth all the excitement? Not really.


Playing the role of identical twins, Lohan basically had to give two separate performances which isn't exactly easy. Furthermore, when shooting the film, she essentially acted opposite no one when filming scenes in which both sisters appear. Therefore, I have to applaud Lohan for that aspect especially due to her young age. And I actually thought her role as Hallie (American twin) was quite charming. She embodied the innocent and fun nature of the character. However, as soon as the attention was shifted upon Annie (English twin), it went downhill for her. The accent is clearly fake and doesn't work at all. As an Englishman myself, I have a knack for noticing a fake British accent and this stood out like a sore thumb. It wasn't awful by any means but it was a distraction from the flow of the characters. I also don't think that Lohan nailed any of the comedic elements of the film as she missed some moments that could have resulted in laughs. But her comedic timing was off with jokes being delivered in quite a basic and uninteresting way. Playing the parents of Hattie and Annie are Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson. One of the reasons that Quaid impressed me the most with his performance was that it went against the roles he usually appears in. His depiction of a single father trying to hold the family together but also reuniting with his ex was quite engaging and provided some harmless fun. Going from a  mediaeval swordsman in Dragonheart, to a father with puppy dog eyes for his lost lover showcased Quaid's range as an actor. Natasha Richardson was the one performance that seemed confused to me. She was good in some parts but boring and uninspired in others. A constant annoyance that I had was her style of acting and how it seemed identical to that of Emma Thompson which then begs the question, why not cast Emma Thompson? Like Lohan, she didn't quite have the comedic chops to hold her own but then part of the blame has to dropped on the writers who do not supply the actors with the most effective of jokes.

Nancy Myers is a director that has never won me over with her work. Projects such as The Holiday simply bored and The Intern was just about tolerable. But here, Myers falls into her basic storytelling flaws of struggling to tell and fluid story. On each of her movies, they are so astonishingly formulaic, a simple minded audience member will be able to know any twists and the overall conclusion before the film reaches its halfway mark. Because of this, The Parent Trap lacks any speciality and is just another run of the mill Disney family comedy. But the problem is, it isn't funny. Young children may find certain moments humourous and parents could find themselves chuckling at a couple of jokes that will go over kids head. Other than that, it is pretty much a humourless affair that never has the gravitas to make for a compelling viewing. The structural issues also prevent this film from achieving a high standard of positivity. Without giving away spoilers (even though the film is almost twenty years old) the plot of this film can easily be separated into four significant sequences each lasting around half an hour. The first consists of the girls meeting and discovering their relation. The second is them switching places to see their other parent. The third is the sisters reuniting their parents once again. And the final act revolves around the sisters attempting to convince their father to get back together with their mother. Nothing original + no risks taken = dull and mildly passable movie. 

Now this is usually the segment of the review in which I will begin to mention my perspective on the technical aspects of the film and how well they were achieved. Unfortunately, apart from a decent score by Alan Silvestri that is quite fun and jovial but it sure isn't matching the standards of Back To The Future or Forrest Gump, nothing technical presented in this movie surpasses any expectations. So, instead, I will just mention some parts of the film that just created confusion and, at points, infuriation. My biggest gripe with this film is that significant reasons for events taking place are never fully explained leaving the audience in bewilderment and detrimental confusion. Ultimately, what is the biggest plot device in this entire film, is the fact that Hattie and Annie never knew of each other's existence. With neither parents letting them know, you would assume that there would be a significant reason for keeping this life altering secret away from the girls. But they never reveal why!! Now, because of this, both Quaid and Richardson seem like dysfunctional and awful parents. As well as this, the initial writing for Hattie and Annie make them seem as if they are the two dumbest children to walk the face of the earth. After noticing their similar looks, parental situation and identical birth dates, I then takes them twenty minutes until they begin to ponder the possibility that they might be related.

The charm from Lohan and range showcased by Quaid can only just save The Parent Trap from disaster. Quite ironically, it falls into its own trap by presenting ineffective comedy with a story that was about as fluid as a brick.

My Verdict: 4.5/10

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