Movies To Watch Just Like Freaky Friday

"Freaky Friday," starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as Tess and Anna Coleman, respectively, is the movie for a generation. While they're a mother and daughter living under one roof, their lives are about as different as possible. But, when they switch bodies, everything goes south. While Tess and Anna initially struggle with each other's decisions, they eventually realize how important family is and how unfairly judgmental they've been of each other's lives.

The 2003 movie isn't the first to implement a story involving a body swap between its lead characters — it is itself a remake of Disney's 1976 film starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris — but it's the one that sticks out in the minds of moviegoers everywhere. The Disney film hit all the right notes, and more than two decades later, fans still can't get enough. The original cast is reuniting for a sequel, "Freakier Fridays," that's set to hit theaters in 2025. Even Chad Michael Murray was on board to return as Jake, joining Curtis and Lohan in the long-awaited continuation. From rom-coms to modern horror, sci-fi, and anime, here are other movies like "Freaky Friday" to watch.

"Vice Versa" released before "Freaky Friday," but fans of the Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis movie are sure to love seeing Fred Savage and Judge Reinhold create a similar dynamic. Marshall Seymour (Reinhold) is a department store VP who spends most of his time away from his 11-year-old son Charlie (Savage). A trip to Thailand results in a magic skull being hidden in Marshall's luggage by thieves planning to reclaim it later. However, before that can happen, Charlie makes a wish while holding the skull, and he and his dad swap bodies.

They get into several mishaps as each other while trying to figure out how to switch back, but the thieves throw a wrench in things when they show up to take the skull. From giving it up to save the other to later trying to steal it back, Marshall and Charlie grow closer and eventually end up back in their own bodies. But the body swap isn't reversed before Charlie makes some huge changes in Marshall's life, including proposing to his father's girlfriend as his dad.

Like "Freaky Friday," "Vice Versa" features a parent-child relationship, and the swap is magically linked to a specific object and a heated moment. The 1988 film has a bit more action in it because of the thieves subplot than the 2003 Disney remake, but it features the two understanding the other more thanks to the experience, resulting in a renewed relationship.

• Starring: Judge Reinhold, Fred Savage
• Director: Brian Gilbert
• Year: 1988
• Runtime: 1h 37m
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50%

"The Change-Up" features Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman in roles few people know them for, but it proves even some of Reynolds' worst movies are still worth a watch. Reynolds plays Mitch, a single guy, while Bateman is Dave, a married father. After a night out that results in a bit of drunken debauchery and dual urination in a public fountain, the two wish to swap lives. They wake up the next morning to find they've switched bodies, and the magic, wish-granting fountain has been taken away to be restored, leaving them to track it down to swap back.

They make changes to each other's bodies, including giving Mitch's a tattoo, and try to fit into and enjoy the other's life. Dave also tries to get his wife to believe the men about the switch, but it isn't until the end of the film that she does. While Dave and Mitch find the fountain again in a public shopping mall, it isn't until the epilogue that the audience finds out if they are able to successfully move back into their own bodies.

For fans of "Freaky Friday" looking for a more adult option, "The Change-Up" is your best bet. Though far from perfect, the movie includes top-tier actors and plenty of comedy for those preferring something with a bit more bite. Because the two swapping places are both adults and friends, it reinforces a theme of appreciating what you have, even if in the moment it feels like you might want something different.

• Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Olivia Wilde
• Director: David Dobkin
• Year: 2011
• Runtime: R
• Rating: 1h 52m
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 26%

Daykroyd's Louis Winthorpe III and Eddie Murphy's Billy Ray Valentine aren't responsible for their swap in "Trading Places" — the co-owners of the commodities company Duke & Duke, Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) and Mortimer (Don Ameche), are. After Louis and Billy Ray run into each other outside a building, Louis, a director at the company, thinks Billy Ray, a low-income individual, is trying to steal his briefcase. The Duke brothers decide to place a bet and force the two to swap lives, giving Billy Ray Louis' position in the company while leaving Louis to fend for himself on the streets.

There's no magic responsible for this switch, and the individuals involved don't even choose it for themselves. This story involves brothers performing a social experiment to answer their questions about nature versus nurture. As it unfolds, Billy Ray settles into his new, lavish life, while Louis tries everything he can think of to discredit Billy Ray and get his life back. The only catch is that the Dukes have no plans to bring him back into the business.

"Trading Places" has gone down as one of the best comedy movies of all time, with Business Insider calling it "the greatest Wall Street movie ever made." It was also a huge turning point in the careers of most of the cast, from giving "Freaky Friday" star Jamie Lee Curtis, who portrays a sex worker named Ophelia, a way to shift from her horror roots in "Halloween" to comedy, to Murphy signing a multi-million dollar deal with Paramount Pictures for five movies and financial backing for his production company.

• Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Lee Curtis
• Director: John Landis
• Year: 1983
• Runtime: 1h 56m
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

For those who had been wondering what happened to Vince Vaughn, "Freaky" answered the question. This 2020 offering (the title of which is an obvious homage to the Curtis/Lohan movie) features Vaughn and Kathryn Newton portraying a serial killer and a high school student, respectively. After Vaughn's "The Butcher" tries to kill Newton's Millie, the two switch bodies. If Millie, now in the Butcher's body, is able to stab her body by midnight, they'll swap back; otherwise, she'll be stuck in the killer's body forever.

Millie, as the Butcher, has to convince her friends who she is so they'll help her, but the Butcher as Millie doesn't make it easy. As a teen girl, he continues his killing spree, a task made easier as no one is looking for a student. The Butcher immediately benefits from the swap, and rather than taking on Millie's life completely, he uses it to his advantage. The teen also utilizes her new body for her own self-interests, using it to one-up other high schoolers who bully her, liking the strength the adult male body provides.

"Freaky" takes the body-swapping plot to a different level because the dynamic between the Butcher and Millie is unlike any other movie on this list. One is actively working to find a solution, and the other would love to stay in their new body since it gives them protection from the authorities — at least in the short term. And, for horror fans, there are plenty of fights, murders and near-death sequences.

• Starring: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton
• Director: Christopher Landon
• Year: 2020
• Runtime: 1h 41m
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%

"A Saintly Switch" features a husband and wife duo who swap bodies after their children use a spell on them. Patriarch Dan (David Alan Grier) has taken a new job with the New Orleans Saints, causing the family to move to the city. He and his wife Sara (Vivica A. Fox) have been fighting, and the move only exacerbates that situation. Their kids, Annette (Shadia Simmons) and Clark (Scott Cumberbatch), find a book of spells in their new house and decide to use one to switch their parents' bodies in hopes it will stop their fighting.

Sara has to learn about football now that she is in Dan's body, and in Sara's body, Dan discovers they are pregnant. The swap forces the couple to better understand what the other does for the family and what their day-to-day lives are like, giving them a deeper appreciation for their spouse. Dan and Sara stay switched longer than the characters do in most films that use body swaps as a narrative device, unable to swap back until the pregnancy is nearly full term.

This made-for-TV movie is like "Freaky Friday" meets "The Parent Trap," featuring meddling children who just want their parents to be happy but using magic to do it. It's a great watch for fans of both Lohan films.

• Starring: David Alan Grier, Vivica A. Fox
• Director: Peter Bogdanovich
• Year: 1999
• Runtime: 1h 36m
• Rating: TV-G
• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 60%

Nell (Samaire Armstrong) and Woody (Kevin Zegers) are neighbors and enemies in "It's a Boy Girl Thing." Before high school, they were friends, but then they gravitated toward different social circles, with Nell being more bookish and Woody being a star athlete. A school field trip causes them to switch bodies after they fight in front of a statue of Tezcatlipoca, an Aztec god, and they find themselves body-swapped the next morning.

The two struggle with the situation. While they initially agree to be the other, they quickly fall back into arguing and hating one another, which makes everything worse. Woody purposely dresses Nell's body in clothes she wouldn't normally wear, while Nell ends up wearing outfits that don't match Woody's status in school. When their attempts to swap back fail, they realize that they have to play their parts better, with Woody helping Nell learn more about football so she doesn't tank his big game and Nelly preparing Woody for her Yale interview.

"It's a Boy Girl Thing" uses the body swap in combination with the staple trope of "opposites attract" to create a teen rom-com. A football player falling in love with someone perceived as nerdy or shy isn't unusual in teen movies, but a body swap leading to romance changes the mold.

• Starring: Samaire Armstrong, Kevin Zegers, Maury Chaykin
• Director: Nick Hurran
• Year: 2006
• Runtime: 1h 35m
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 67%

Fans of "Freaky Friday" and anime movies need to add "Your Name" to their watchlist. The 2016 Japanese film follows two teens who start switching bodies, but the transition isn't complete, causing them to have some days as themselves and some days as the other. It all starts after Mitsuha Miyamizu (Mone Kamishiraishi) wishes to the night sky to be a boy in Tokyo in her next life because she's grown up in a small town and wants to see more of the world. Her wish comes true when she swaps with Taki Tachibana (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a teenager in Tokyo.

It isn't permanent, and the two don't know each other at all before this happens to them. They leave notes during their swaps until the switching suddenly ends, leaving them with more questions than answers. Taki tries to find Mitsuha, but time and a celestial event aren't on his side; it turns out that the two teens are living in different years, which foils their chances to meet in person. Ultimately, the universe has something greater planned for them, even if it takes a bit of time for the teens to realize it.

The body swap in "Your Name" happens across different timelines, allowing the two teens to change history and prevent a tragedy in Mitsuha's home town. It's more of an emotional story than "Freaky Friday," using the body-switching trope to tell a symbolic story about love, loss, and perseverance.

• Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi
• Director: Makoto Shinkai
• Year: 2016
• Runtime: 1h 46m
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

"Jumanji" is a popular franchise stemming from the original book published in 1981. "Jumanji: The Next Level" is the fourth movie based on the book, and it really does take things to a new level that audiences loved, blowing up at the box office when it introduced a body swap between multiple players and their in-game avatars.

When college freshman Spencer (Alex Wolff) reenters the game from "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," his friends go in after him. However, this time their avatars are swapped around; Spencer's grandfather, Eddie (Danny DeVito), ends up with Spencer's former avatar, Dr. Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson); his friend, Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain), takes on their friend Bethany's (Madison Iseman) avatar, Professor Oberon (Jack Black); Eddie's friend Milo (Danny Glover) finds himself playing as Fridge's original avatar, Mouse (Kevin Hart); and Spencer has a brand new avatar. Over the course of their journey to find a magical necklace to stop the drought, the characters switch back and forth before finally landing back in their original avatar bodies, with Eddie taking on Spencer's new avatar, Ming (Awkwafina), as his own.

"Jumanji: The Next Level" added a new element to the franchise, giving the actors a chance to imitate each other. "For me, the idea that really got me excited about making a sequel was this thought of bringing in these two guys that are at a completely different point in their lives," director Jake Kasdan told Digital Spy. "And suddenly that started to get really exciting, the thought of bringing in these two characters, and having DJ and Kevin playing that opposite each other. It felt like a big, exciting idea."

• Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Alex Wolff, Danny DeVito
• Director: Jake Kasdan
• Year: 2019
• Runtime: 2h 3m
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 72%

"Dream a Little Dream" follows the story of high school student Bobby (Corey Feldman), who has a crush on an unobtainable girl. Following a freak encounter between her and an older married couple performing a meditation ritual, the four swap bodies and minds in several ways; Bobby is locked in a dream world, while the older man, Coleman (Jason Robards), is in his body, while part of his wife Gena's (Piper Laurie) mind is in the teen girl, Lainie's (Meredith Salenger), body. This is due to the intent behind the meditation, which was to be together forever on another plane.

With help from Bobby in his dreams, Coleman tries to bring the portions of Gena in Lainie forward so they can recreate the ritual and hopefully put everyone back where they should be. However, in doing so, he has to be a student again and navigate life as a teen, which he hasn't done in some time. To make matters worse, Bobby would rather stay in dreamland, further complicating everything for Coleman.

There are several dynamics at play in this film, from Bobby being in a liminal space to only part of Gena's consciousness being in Lainie's body. While it takes a minute to understand, "Dream a Little Dream" is different from other body swap movies in a great way. It's funny to watch as Coleman tries to understand what's cool to modern teenagers while trying to connect with his wife at the same time.

• Starring: Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Meredith Salenger, Jason Robards, Piper Laurie
• Director: Marc Rocco
• Year: 1989
• Runtime: 1h 54m
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 9%

Jack Watson (George Burns) is turning 81 and celebrating his birthday in the best way — swapping bodies with his 18-year-old grandson, David (Charlie Schlatter). A wish made by Jack at his birthday party comes true after a car accident causes Jack to wake up in David's body. However, David doesn't wake up in Jack's because his grandfather's body is on life support due to injuries sustained in the crash. Now, Jack has to race against the clock to make things right and save his body so David's mind doesn't die.

While living his grandson's life, Jack learns more about his family and the people around him, including the fact that Madeline (Anita Morris), his girlfriend, isn't in a relationship with him for the best reasons. While he enjoys the perks of a younger body, including playing poker with frat boys and talking to young women, he knows he can't stay in David's body forever.

Like "Freaky Friday," "18 Again!" is about two family members switching places and learning something as a result. Here, Jack learns to appreciate his family more, even involving his son in the family business, and realizes who actually cares about him. After the two switch back, Jack connects with his grandson and helps him achieve his own goals, giving them something to bond over.

• Starring: George Burns, Charlie Schlatter
• Director: Paul Flaherty
• Year: 1988
• Runtime: 1h 40m
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 29%

Unlike most films that use this trope, in "Face/Off," there's no magic object or unknown force responsible for the body swap between John Travolta's Sean Archer and Nicolas Cage's Castor Troy. Sean is a special agent with an ax to grind after Castor, a terrorist, kills his son. Six years later, when Castor is captured and in a coma, Sean allows himself to be the recipient of an experimental surgery that transplants Castor's face onto his skull in order to learn where a bomb is located in time to prevent it from detonating in Los Angeles.

However, when Castor wakes up, he takes on Sean's face and is ready to mess with the agent's life. Sean, on the other hand, doesn't know this has happened until he returns from his undercover mission. He determines where the bomb is, but first he has to fight Castor and get his own face back.

For fans of body swapping and science fiction action films, "Face/Off" is the one to watch. With a great cast and plenty of action, it's perfect for audiences looking for something similar to "Freaky Friday" but wanting something with a bit more grit. Cage even has an idea for a sequel, meaning "Face/Off" could return to screens just like "Freaky Friday" is.

• Starring: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage
• Director: John Woo
• Year: 1997
• Runtime: 2h 18m
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%