Alyssa Therese O.

Paras Grade 11- STEM

The Parent Trap: A Movie Review

Introduction
The Parent Trap is a 1998 American romantic comedy film that Charles Shyer produced,
Nancy Meyers co-wrote, and directed. It is both an adaptation of Erich Kä stner's 1949 German
novel Lisa and Lottie and a remake of the 1961 movie of the same name (Das doppelte
Lottchen). Lindsay Lohan makes her acting debut as Hallie Parker and Annie James, identical
twins who are reunited at summer camp after being split up at birth. Dennis Quaid and Natasha
Richardson play a divorced couple who split up soon after the birth of their daughters. The first
Lottie and Lisa movie from 1961 had a screenplay by David Swift.Swift is credited along with
Meyers and Shyer as co-writers of the 1998 version. The Parent Trap was theatrically released
in the United States on July 29, 1998 and was a box-office hit, grossing $92.1 million against a
$15 million budget. It received positive reviews from critics, with Lohan's performance in
particular earning high praise.
Plot Summary
Eleven-year-olds Hallie Parker, from Napa Valley, and Annie James, from London, both
played by Lohan, cross paths at a posh Maine summer camp. Despite their striking similarities,
they grow to despise one another and engage in a series of rivalries and silly pranks in an effort
to outdo the other. Both girls are sent to an isolation lodge after one of the evil plans goes
astray, where they discover they have a lot in common. Their discovery that they are in reality
twin sisters who were split up at birth is confirmed by the fact that they each own a portion of a
wedding photo that their parents' wedding party took on board the Queen Elizabeth II eleven
years and nine months earlier. The sisters come up with a scheme in order to meet their
separate estranged families' parents: Hallie will go back to London pretending to be Annie, and
Annie will go back to California pretending to be Hallie. Of course, the plan will be found out
eventually, and the two girls anticipate that their parents will have to get together to 'unswitch'
them.

Description
It is a 2 hour film about a separate family. “The Parent Trap” is an updated version of the
popular 1961 comedy about reunited twin sisters who want to reconnect their divorced
parents. New pic is slick, sentimental and exceptionally well cast, with enough cross-
generational appeal to suggest strong commercial potential. On the downside, however,
contempo audiences may have trouble accepting a few of the plot elements carried over from
the original.

Analysis
Lindsay Lohan, who handles the material deftly and gives the movie a lot of its spunk
and appeal, is the film's brilliant focal point. She not only excels at portraying two dissimilar
twins, each with their own quirks and eccentricities, but she also manages the emotional nuance
that emerges from many of the situations with a lot of subtext. Additionally, the illusion of
Lohan in the twin roles is seamless, suspending any remaining doubt, thanks to digital
technology and acting double Erin Mackey. The complexity of relationships is oversimplified to
the point of ridiculous artificiality in "The Parent Trap", which is an issue. In this movie, Nick
and Meredith's relationship is obviously abnormal, and Meredith is obviously a diva to the max.
The reason Elizabeth left her husband eleven years earlier is likewise not addressed, which
makes the inevitable reconciliation much simpler.

Conclusion
Despite the shortcomings, this upbeat offering has enough wit, charm, shine, and
contemporary sensibility to delight audiences. If you can tolerate the slow pacing and its
unrealistic view of reconciliation, you'll enjoy all that "The Parent Trap" has to offer. It’s not
perfectly great, but it's an entertaining family film that will easily put a silly grin on your face. It
has so many lessons that we can learn from this movie so I recommend everyone because it’s
worth watching