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| The Parent Trap Hallie Parker (Lindsay Lohan) lives with her father, Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid) in Napa, California. She has a dog called Samy, and an aunt-cum-nanny called Chessy (Lisa Ann Walter). The only thing missing from her life is a mother. All the way to the other side of the world lies Annie James, a refined young lady living in fashionable London, with her mother Elizabeth James (Natasha Richardson), a relatively famous wedding gown designer. With her is her pal-cum-butler, Martin (Simon Kunz), and her loving grandfather (Ronnie Stevens). The only thing missing from her life is a father. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the girls are twins. As fate would have it, the two meet at a summer camp in Maine. Both are Poker experts, both are the fencing champions, so it's natural for them to eventually meet up in the fencing competition. When punished together when their revenge on each other backfires, the two discover that they are actually twins, seperated at birth when their parents broke up. Soon, the two are giggling and laughing together as they plan to get their parents back together by switching places, forcing their parents to unswitch them and hence meet face-to-face once more. Things go wrong though, when Annie (now Hallie) discoveres that a conniving woman, Meridith Blake (Elaine Hendrix) is after ol' Nick Parker, as well as his vineyard fortune. Thus, the twins feverishly plan on how to get rid of this "Curella de Ville", as well as getting their parents back together again. Being a Disney movie, you'd expect the usual "and they all lived happily ever after" ending. Well, you aren't wrong this time. Lindsay Lohan gives a rather spirited performance as both Hallie and Annie, switching accents and attitude with ease and agility, though at times, fatigue seems to mix the two accents up. While Hallie has the attitude of an American girl, Annie has all the refiness and manners of a British girl. By the way, the stand-in double for Lindsay Lohan was Erin Mackey, since digital tricks cannot do everything. Dennis Quaid, who plays Nick Parker, looks just like the lovable, bumbling guy who is enchanted by Meridith Blake, yet cannot forget his ex-wife, Elizabeth James. Natasha Richardson, playing the famous wedding gown designer wife, needs some work on her accent, which doesn't seem to sound convincing enough (given Lohan's own ease and use of it). The best part is always the bad guy, and so Elaine Hendrix shines in it. While not carrassing Nick Parker, or vowing revenge on the girls, she's squirming her way through a forest, having to contend with lizards on her hair, multitudes of mosquito bites, and floating sleeping bags in the middle of the river. This is the usual Disney fair, so any one can go and watch it, provided you're not sick of happily-ever-after endings and the usual "trick-the-bad-guy" stunts. While a relatively good movie, it's not one where you should queue up half-an-hour for. Here'a a bit of trivia for you: Joanna Barnes, who plays Meridith Blake's mother, acted as the bitchy fiance in the original 1960's Parent Trap. |
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