can't believe some people prefer THIS one
Is it just nostalgia? Or just feeling that everything from "back in the day" was better? A lot of stuff in this movie was just plain bad. The newer version, while hardly an all-time classic, did a good job with it and avoided any major problems like these.
-- The scene where about 10 visitors show up one after another. The mom, Ellen, wouldn't have been able to handle all that chaos anyway. Plus it's hardly a normal day in the life of a mother. Isn't this movie supposed to be about how they wouldn't want to experience each other's everyday life?
-- Ellen-as-Annabel is clueless beyond what is believable. Yes, I know she's SUPPOSED to be confused about how to act in her daughter's life. But she keeps calling people "young lady" and never stops doing it, she has no idea that giving a class-long speech is considered unusual. I can't help but think about the poor writing when this happens.
-- The boy across the street doesn't seem ANYTHING like any human being I have ever heard of. All I could think is "why did they make him act like that? is he supposed to be mentally retarded?"
-- Very random and pointless car chase scene, and it didn't seem to have any consequences at all. Again, is starting a high speed car chase something that a girl like Annabel is supposed to do? It was amusing at least to see all the Dukes of Hazzard police cars after seeing Boss Hogg as the principal.
-- Speaking of which, I can't even begin to explain the parent/teacher/principal meeting. Very weird and hard to understand situation there.
-- When they switch back at the end, their bodies are in the wrong places. Why?
-- Probably worst of all is the climax of the movie. Let me get this straight- the dad has some random business meeting, which happens to take place on a floating raft on the water, and for some reason it's vitally important that his daughter puts on a water-skiing show? Then when the raft sinks into the water, the natural reaction of all the important business is to LAUGH?
There are just so many "WTF" moments that distract you from enjoying the movie. I don't see how anyone can prefer this when there are so many bad scenes.
On a side note, I watched this movie just because I'm a Jodie Foster fan. I don't know if it's the acting or writing or what, but I was really bored and not entertained by her scenes. Instead, Barbara Harris (the mother) was the star of the movie. She did a great job of acting like a kid, and her scenes with the boy across the street, and interacting with Annabel's brother, were the best parts of the movie. In the remake, it was the other way around, with Lindsay Lohan getting the better scenes.