Freakier Friday (PG) – 111 minutes

Everything old is new again.

That popular expression could apply to the sequel to Disney’s Freaky Friday, which again features Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan and Mark Harmon.

The conceit of the original, 22 years ago, was that Tess Coleman (Curtis) and her daughter, Anna (Lohan), are at loggerheads.

And then, after a freak accident, each takes the other’s body, thereby being forced to live the other’s life.

In Freakier Friday, Anna is preparing to marry restaurateur Eric Reyes (Manny Jacinto).

The pair met following an incident between their respective daughters – 15-year-olds Harper Coleman (Julia Butters) and Lily Reyes (Sopia Hammons) – at school.

An encounter between Anna and Eric in Principal Waldman’s (X Mayo) office becomes nothing short of a love in.

Their daughters have taken a dislike to one another, after Lily started at the school in Los Angeles, having moved from London after the death of her mother.

As a matter of note, Harper lost her father when she was much the same age as Lily.

Harper doesn’t like the fact that Lily presents herself as being better than the other girls in the class.

Now, Harper and Lily are being forced to live as one big happy family, as Anna and Eric are so much in love.

The trouble is that much to Harper’s chagrin, after Anna and Eric get married, they plan to move the merged family to London.

In fact, Harper and Lily would be quite content to shanghai the relationship between their respective parents.

Meanwhile, Tess, now a successful psychologist, about to embark on her first book tour, still has an uneasy relationship with her daughter, Anna.

Using pop psychology, Tess tries to keep the peace, but tends to overstep boundaries.

Then, after a couple of unplanned psychic readings by shonky medium Madame Jen (Vanesa Bayer), lightning strikes a second time for Tess and Anna.

Tess inhabits the body of teen Lily and vice versa, while Anna swaps places with her daughter Harper.

Mayhem ensues.

The other story thread explored in the film is that Anna, who had a garage band named Pink Slip in Freaky Friday, now manages a troubled pop star.

Ella (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is suffering after a painful breakup, which is affecting her creativity and confidence.

Somehow, Ella has to get it together before her imminent appearance on stage in front of thousands of her fans.

Freakier Friday is a bit of lightweight fluff, which should resonate among those who saw the original, if, for no other reason, than the strength of nostalgia.

Those who come to this sequel fresh may still get some laughs out of it.

After all, young ‘uns inhabiting older bodies isn’t exactly gainly and, of course, that is the point.

There are some nice sight gags, notably an all in food fight at school, which culminates with involvement from the principal.

Screenwriter Jordan Weiss (creator of the hit Hulu series Dollface) worked with members of the team of Freaky Friday to arrive at the new plotline.

The chemistry between Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan remains strong – the simmering tension apparent.

Curtis’ larger than life characterisation is bound to inflame matters.

Lohan’s ability to show maturity as Anna will be tested.

I also quite liked the dynamic between their daughters. Julia Butters and Sopia Hammons ensure their presence is felt.

Manny Jacinto and Mark Harmon, who plays Tess’ patient husband, are cast as a couple of nice guys navigating the complexities of their respective partners.

Vanesa Bayer is a scene stealer as the deliberately awkward medium, who has a range of other career pursuits.

X Mayo is also given moments to shine as the principal.

Another of note in the cast is Chad Michael Murray, who is laid back as Anna’s first love and threatens to derail the upcoming nuptials.

With lots of colour and movement, director Nisha Ganatra has delivered a serviceable follow up that ticks a few boxes.

Rated PG, Freakier Friday scores a 6 out of 10.