Review: The Parent Trap (1998)

The Parent Trap

It's been too long since I've seen the original 1961 THE PARENT TRAP to make comparisons. Let it be enough to say that I watched the remake with four boys, ages 11-13, and not one of them griped that it was corny or a "chick flick."

First-time director Nancy Meyers summons first-rate performances from most of the cast. Lindsay Lohan stands out in the role of twins Hallie Parker, the Napa Valley native who loves her single father, and Annie James, the skillfully accented Londoner who meets her sister at summer camp. It must have taken planning and patience to keep the girls' manners straight and separate - not to mention to shoot around a stand-in; the result is seamless and uncanny. There's even a scene in which the girls play poker, one of them - we think the stand-in - holding her face away from the camera. But suddenly she turns and we see Lohan again. In fact there are very few scenes, in which the girls appear together, that have not been carefully executed. As an actress, Lohan is poised and confident, and her red hair and freckles make viewers forget Hayley Mills.

Much of the lightness of tone - and it is a welcome lightness - comes from Simon Kunz's portrayal of Annie's butler. At once a father figure and fun-loving pal, the loyal Martin gets many of the laughs in the picture. And he comes by them honestly; it does not even seem cheap when he dresses in leather or in nothing but a Speedo. Martin is not afraid to cry, and meets a sympathetic counterpart in Chessy (Lisa Ann Walter), employee of Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid) and nanny to Hallie. A budding romance between the servants actually adds charm to the film, though the idea of it sounds sappy and cliched. As the twins' father, Quaid turns in a solid but not an outstanding job. Natasha Richardson is a bit more flamboyant, especially in scenes that have her straight-laced Elizabeth swallowing too much airline booze. No, along with the dual main role, it is the supporting roles of the servants, along with a little help from Elaine Hendrix as gold-digging Meredith, that propels the story into an above-average film.

Pace is very important in this film, especially since Meyers and co-writer Charles Shyer avoid fart jokes and crotch kicks. The slapstick humor at camp comes across well, and the very premise of the girls switching roles so that their parents would be forced to see each other lends unity of plot. Once again the acting makes for some touching reunions, with each 11 year-old never having seen one parent. I think what moves the story along so quickly is the editing. The scenes are only as long as they need to be, no fillers stretching them out. For instance, Annie and Hallie offer each other extensive coaching: each must duplicate the other's knowledge and lifestyle. These scenes are properly summarized.

On the whole, THE PARENT TRAP appeals to such a wide audience - including adolescent boys - because it tells a story of human triumph. It is also intelligent and innocent, a double threat to most movies that ooze or explode out of the huge conglomerates that happen to own studios.