A couple get divorced (for no good reason that is ever explained)and decide to each take one of their twin daughters with them - so as never to have to communicate with each other again. Subsequently, both parents appear to forget they ever had a second child, never bother to tell either twin that the other exists or discuss with them their missing parent. That is the ridiculous premise upon which The Parent Trap is built. And this, one reviewer described as "good, clean family fun"? Good clean dysfunctional family fun, perhaps.
If you can get beyond the glaring flaws in the plot you'll be impressed by the cast. Lindsay Lohan is exceptional. Even her English accent is flawless - pretty amazing for an actress of any age never mind one of eleven! And it is especially commendable as it is the only accurate reference to England and the English in the entire film.
We don't have "Oreos" (or however you spell it) in England so when Halle/Annie both claim to have always enjoyed eating them with peanut butter it just comes across as clumsy product placement. But then again, Disney's chocolate box version of London only exists in the mind of people who've never visited it.
Annie's relationship with her "Butler" is too intimate for a professional relationship and their handshake ritual is, frankly, ridiculous. As is the pairing of said camp butler with butch nanny in the romance stakes.
An odd film, not badly made but still odd. It trivializes divorce and its repercussions in the context of a family entertainment. A contradiction in terms, me thinks. In the real world, parents like these should have been "trapped" by social services but that would hardly make for Disney entertainment, would it?!
If you can get beyond the glaring flaws in the plot you'll be impressed by the cast. Lindsay Lohan is exceptional. Even her English accent is flawless - pretty amazing for an actress of any age never mind one of eleven! And it is especially commendable as it is the only accurate reference to England and the English in the entire film.
We don't have "Oreos" (or however you spell it) in England so when Halle/Annie both claim to have always enjoyed eating them with peanut butter it just comes across as clumsy product placement. But then again, Disney's chocolate box version of London only exists in the mind of people who've never visited it.
Annie's relationship with her "Butler" is too intimate for a professional relationship and their handshake ritual is, frankly, ridiculous. As is the pairing of said camp butler with butch nanny in the romance stakes.
An odd film, not badly made but still odd. It trivializes divorce and its repercussions in the context of a family entertainment. A contradiction in terms, me thinks. In the real world, parents like these should have been "trapped" by social services but that would hardly make for Disney entertainment, would it?!