Directed By: Nisha Ganatra

Written By: Jordan Weiss 

Story By: Elyse Hollander and Jordan Weiss

Based on characters, Based on the book By: Mary Rodgers 

Cinematography: Matthew Clark

Editor: Eleanor Infante 

Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Vanessa Bayer, Mark Harmon, Manny Jacinto, Chad Michael Murray, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Christina Vidal

22 years after Tess and Anna endured an identity crisis, Anna now has a daughter and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might strike twice.

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This was unexpected a sequel, so many decades after the original hit though will admit kind of had interest to catch this can say that it’s not disappointing. It stays fun and lively throughout. It doesn’t offer necessarily anything original but it’s perfect for its target, offering fans of the original or more first a chance to see the two stars in their element who they grew up with, and it allows their children a chance to see characters their own age they can identify with.

Though I might not be the ideal audience, it reminded me of Disney adult aimed humored films where they still have an innocence, despite being more maturely themed

The film wisely stays with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis‘s characters whose bodies are supposed to be inhabited by these teenagers and they get to major league showcase and be broad throughout whereas we do see the teenagers supposedly inhabited by older people, but the movie doesn’t rely on them as much.

It’s especially nice and surprising to see Lindsay Lohan back on the big screen and a major release making her comeback of sort. She has been making a comeback and more Hallmark and straight to streaming movies but here is the first time she’s had a chance on a major big screen platform. After so much trouble in her personal life it seemed like she was destined for tragedy or at least never really work again, which was a shame as always thought that she had the talent and goods to be a leading lady and have a long career so this film was a nice surprise.

Even though she doesn’t have as much to do or shine as in the last film, she still impresses, and it still quite the screen presence.

Jamie Lee Curtis is obviously having fun with her role here and gets a lot of time to shine and showcase and feel steadier here than in some of her more recent roles

Chad Michael Murray continues to be type cast as the hunk who gets away and kind of temptation that lays on the side, pure of fantasy, which leaves him with very little to do.

The film breezes along and mannequin to have and beat everything for each part of the audience. It can be romantic, comedic, young, mature, juvenile, and it manages to stay fun throughout, except when it goes from the second act of the third act with a plot device that of course is needed for a 3 act structure, but still has you rolling your eyes Kind of like getting a shot at the doctors office it’s needed and you know it’s coming, but the process is always a pain

Is the film is everything you expected to me, though? It also has charisma and charm. This is not going to went over anyone new to the franchise, but the fans of it will be in heaven as they bring back most of the cast from the first film and it feels like not your standard sequel. There was a lot of effort put it into this film That makes it feel like it goes above and beyond for its audience not a general audience again, but its audience.

Grade: C+