[.ca] Parent Trap (1998)

From Amazon.co.uk:
If you were a kid in the early 1960s, then you saw The Parent Trap with Hayley Mills--it's as simple as that. Now Disney has pulled the beloved comedy--about a pair of twins who meet for the first time at summer camp and vow to reunite their long-divorced parents--out of the mothballs and remade it with a decidedly 90s feel. This time, the twins act is performed by newcomer Lindsay Lohan, who plays both Hallie and Annie, who each live with one of their parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson). Adversaries when they first meet at camp, Hallie and Annie become, well, sisters when they figure out that they are siblings. The comedy springs from their efforts to sabotage Dad's impending marriage to the gold-digging Elaine Hendrix, while reintroducing Dad to Mom. Quaid has a nice, loosey-goosey way with slapstick, as does Richardson, who plays a very funny drunk scene. --Marshall Fine

The Parent Trap:
This is such a fabulous movie. This is Lindsay Lohan's debut movie and she shines as both Annie and Hallie. Their parents are played by Dennis Quaid the perfect father and Natasha Richardson as the girls mother. There are other memorable charactors in the movie with some memorable scenes that makes this movie so magical.When the girls find out that their long lost sisters the scene is so special because they have never met or even known the other exsisted for over 11 years and six months. This is such a splendid movie that people can enjoy over and over like I have. This is a wonderful updated clasic the first movie had Haily Mills in it in 1960s. The 1998 version is still my favourite. I love this movie so much. Lindsay Lohan was the best choice to play both twins. Run to you video store and rent this classic disney movie or buy the recently released Parent Trap Double Trouble edition.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE...DOUBLE YOUR FUN...:
I saw this re-make most reluctantly. After all, I thought, how could it compare to the original blockbuster hit of the same name, which starred the adorable British actress, Hayley Mills? Well, to my complete surprise, this film is a winner in its own right. Reprising the dual roles played by Hayley Mills, a young Lindsay Lohan, in her silver screen debut, is surprisingly effective and adorable, making the dual roles her own. For those of you unfamiliar with the premise of the film, two girls, Hallie Parker and Annie James (Lindsay Lohan), meet at summer camp. They look exactly alike. One lives with her father, while the other lives with her mother. They soon figure out the previously unknown but inescapable fact that they are twins, separated shortly after birth, each of whom lives with one of their biological parents. They both long to know the parent that is missing from their respective lives. So, they concoct a plan that will allow them to do so, leading to a scheme to reunite their estranged parents. They simply switch places, when it comes time to return home. Their reunion scheme is almost derailed, however, when their biological father seems to have romantic designs on someone else. This comedic caper focuses on the intrigues of the twins as they try to get the potential usurper out of their father's life and re-unite their parents. Lindsay Lohan is simply terrific in the dual roles of Hallie and Annie, infusing a great deal of charm and personality into her portrayal of the twins. Natasha Richardson is wonderful in the role of the mother, Elizabeth James. While she lacks the feistiness of Maureen O'Hara, who originally played the role, Ms. Richardson manages to make the role her own with her low-key charm. Dennis Quaid is terrific as Nick Parker, the handsome, hunky father, who is the besotted prey of a gold digging, scheming, statuesque blonde (Elaine Hendrix). I actually like his performance better than that of Brian Keith, who played this role in the original. Blonde bombshell Elaine Hendrix is effective as Meredith Blake, the potential wicked step-mother, who quickly sees her own scheme to marry a wealthy husband go up in flames as the twins plot against her. Lisa Ann Walter is simply wonderful as Nick Parker's good-hearted housekeeper, infusing the role with a rich warmth. Simon Kunz is very funny in the role of Martin, the James' butler, creating a memorable character, and Ronnie Stevens is perfectly cast as the maternal grandfather, Charles James. As to whether or not their mother and father will be re-united, as the twins so desire, watch this film and find out. Although Lindsay Lohan does not sing the popular signature song, "Let's Get Together", which Hayley Mills sang in the original film, the viewer will not be disappointed by this re-make. Disney Studios, which is the studio responsible for both the original and the re-make, has created a terrific little comedic gem in its own right with this film.

Try to enjoy Lindsay Lohan's first film without the ironic frame of reference:
I am sure the reason "The Parent Trap" was airing on cable television last weekend was not because of Lindsay Lohan's arrest this past week but more because this past Friday "I Know Who Killed Me" opened. So you have to appreciate that they are showing Lohan's first movie on television the same weekend that what may well be her last movie is opening in theaters. It is hard to watch this 1998 remake of the 1961 Haley Miles film of the same name, which is an American version of the German story "Das Doppelte Lottchen" by Erich Kästner filmed in 1950, and not wonder what happened to sweet little Lindsay Lohan. Watching this version again I kept thinking of Rob Schneider's joke on "The Tonight Show" about Lohan being worried about losing jobs to the English chick that played opposite her in "The Parent Trap" (Erin Mackey was the acting double, but that is not who he mean), but the basic situation is way too sentimental to be caustic and cynical for too long when watching this movie again. My problem with this movie is neither Lohan nor her performance, but rather the parents and the premise. I am tempted to review "The Parent Trap" as a horror film. You have these two people, Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth James (Natasha Richardson), who get married and after the birth of twin girls not only get a divorce but decide that to guarantee they never have to see each other ever again they will each take one of their infant daughters and go their separate ways, she to London, England and he to Napa Valley, California. The fact that the roots of this story go back a half-century to post-war Germany makes a lot of sense to me because I can see circumstances warranting such a separation making a lot more sense than a mother deciding she hates her husband enough to give away one of her children. I mean, come on, when Solomon offered his 50-50 deal way back when it was not a serious proposition (I want to ask what sort of parents break up immediately following the birth of their children, but Kevin Federline can now go for the hat trick on that score). Fortunately, we only have to deal with the interaction of the parents in the third act of this film and as a general rule of thumb if there is not at least one Lindsay Lohan in a scene in this film, it tends not to work as well. The first act finds Hallie Parker and Annie James both arriving at the same Summer Camp (sending your kid to Summer Camp in another country across an entire ocean strikes me as being rather bizarre parental behavior, but it is a necessary plot device in this film). Eventually the girls will figure out the connection between them, which leads to the second act where they switch places to meet the parent they have never met. But before that they terrorize each other in an escalating series of camp hijinks that suggest they are forces to be reckoned with individually, so imagine what they can do if they team up. The second act is far and away the best part of this film because it is pretty much impossible not to be moved when each girl finally gets to meet their other parent and when the parents finally realize what is going on (although my favorite moment is when Annie reveals her true identity to Lisa Ann Walter's Chessy). Coming clean is mandated because Annie, pretending to be Hallie, learns that their dad is going to marry Meredith Blake (Elaine Hendrix), apparently because he is the only one who cannot tell she is a money-hungry ice queen. So it is up to the twins to set things right, or at least set their parents up so they can do the right thing. One of the things that I think are required in a romance is what I call the "grand gesture," and when Nick takes Elizabeth down to his private wine cellar that is exactly what we get. The two-fold problem is that it does not work and that this particular grand gesture begs the question that needs to be asked of both parents as to why they never bothered to track down their other child. Part of me thinks that the twins would be better off with Chessy and Martin (Simon Kunz). If you can suspend your disbelief with regards to the stupidity of Nick and Elizabeth and the horrible thing they did to their daughters, then you can enjoy this film and the Lindsay Lohan that was.

Lindsay Lohan is great!:
The movie isn't so much but Lindsay Lohan is great on her double part. She is a beautiful girl with lots of talent.

Better than Holes!:
I used to have this movie on video tape, but I decided to donate it to Salvation Army and get it on DVD, because I like DVDs better. I had the movie Holes on DVD, too. I bought the movie Holes on DVD when they first released. I really like Holes, too. The differences between Holes and The Parent Trap are good girls vs. bad boys. Holes talks about a camp that's for bad boys and The Parent Trap talks about the camp for good girls. That's why I like girls better than boys, that's why I like The Parent Trap better.