Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Parent Trap (1998)

The original ‘Parent Trap’ is a classic wonderful delightful film. Why on earth did Disney decide to remake it? Wouldn’t it be better to take a bad movie of theirs and remake it into a good movie? Why mess with perfection? Despite having said all that, I enjoyed the remake. Les Miserables is the only Broadway musical I ever saw and I saw it in Boston. If I went to London and saw the same show, it would more or less be the same show, but with the personal touch that each cast brings to the performance. That is how it was with the remake of the Parent Trap.

The original is not better because it is the first version I saw, but because it has more charm overall because of the delightful Hayley Milles. It also has Hayley Milles beating up herself. The remake has Linsey Lohan having a sword fight with herself which she pulls off nicely and little Linsey is so cute and adorable. The first movie had a nicely flowing story pace while the remake had a more logically revealing storyline. You learn a little bit more about what caused the Parent’s breakup in the first place. The people’s reactions in the first film are more realistic and natural then in the remake, except for that of the nurse maid on the Father’s side. She cries up a storm when she finds out the true identity of the girl she hasn’t seen since she was one years old.
The new version also has Dennis Quaid which is usually a good idea for any casting director.

What worked to make the story a success the first time around, they included this time around. They structure the story differently but just as effectively. The ending of the first one worked really well and the ending of this Parent Trap ends equally well but in a different way. They could not have fit the new ending in the older version for technological reasons. But the new ending makes more sense story wise then the former all the former is quite good as well.

The Remake of the Parent Trap deserves a place next to the Original Parent Trap in your family library. It might even be fun to watch the two and then compare them. The movies together and by themselves make for an evening of in-depth discussion and entertainment. If your brave you can then watch Parent Trap 2 and then realize how much better the other two films really are. If they remake Parent Trap 2, lets hope it’s better then the original.

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