13 Going On 30 Review
by Laura Clifford (laura AT reelingreviews DOT com)April 26th, 2004
13 GOING ON 30
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Young Jenna Rink (Shana Dowdeswell, who could also stand in easily for Hilary Swank) yearns to be one of the popular SixChicks and bribes them into coming to her thirteenth birthday party. When the snooty clique pulls a mean trick, Jenna turns on her best friend Matty (Jack Salvatore Jr., "Donnie Darko"), retreats to the closet and makes a wish that comes true. The next morning she's "13 Going on 30."
This woefully lightweight story was hatched by the creators of "What Women Want," Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith, who also wrote the screenplay with director Gary Winick's "Tadpole" screenwriter Niels Mueller. This is the type of film that can catapult a character seventeen years into the future and, with the exception of a cell phone, make no mention whatsoever of historical or technological changes. Winick's exuberant direction and Jennifer Garner's infectious performance ably supported by Andy Serkis, Dowdeswell and Salvatore Jr. almost obscure just how trite and inconsequential this movie is.
Jenna (Jennifer Garner, "Daredevil") is stunned to discover herself in an apartment with a naked man who calls her sweetie bottom, a closet full of high fashion and a job as editor of her favorite magazine, "Poise." She's stymied trying to figure out what's going on when her parents' phone is answered with a 'we're away on a cruise' recording (???), so she directs her secretary (Marcia DeBonis, "Tadpole"), to track down Matt (Mark Ruffalo, "In the Cut"). Conveniently, he's living in the Village so Jenna hightails it to his apartment after work. Turns out he hasn't seen her in years.
Jenna's discovery is somewhat like Nicholas Cage's "The Family Man" in reverse - her new life is built on backstabbing and treachery and in order to become the nice girl she really is, she must undo her childhood mistake. In the interim, she falls in love with Matt (there's an obstacle, 'natch - he's engaged) and is pitted against her best friend Lucy (Judy Greer, "The Hebrew Hammer," "Adaptation"), the former SixChicker, in a race to redesign "Poise" before it is made redundant by rival "Sparkle."
In this artificial world, everyone knows the moves to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video and a week's worth of photo shoots can comprise a magazine (Look Ma! No words!). Yet for all its flimsiness, "13 Going on 30" has the ability to charm. As the young Jenna exults in the big hair version of the 80's (her favorite song is Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl"), overweight Matty shows his potential by spazzing out to Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House." Jenna's thirty year old makes a play for an adolescent boy and befriends a girl in her apartment building for giggly girl talk and pajama parties. Her retreat to mom (Kathy Baker, "Cold Mountain") and dad's (Phil Reeves, "Moonlight Mile") to lick her wounds is the type of psychological fetal position made desirable by stress, especially when mom still serves happy face pancakes.
Jennifer Garner more than proves her worth as an actress, not only giving this sub-par vehicle her all, but raising it up several notches. She's a great physical comedienne and her innocent cluelessness is thoroughly lovable. In one great visual, Garner, smeared in green facial masque, slurps in a bright orange cheese doodle like a strand of spaghetti. Ruffalo provides warmth but his characterization of Matt is too stand-offish, as if he's watching everything from the sidelines. Winick does a great job with the kids, who are not only terrific, but exceptionally well cast. The pudgy Salvatore Jr. could easily slim down into the adult Ruffalo and Alexandra Kyle ("Eye for an Eye") as lead SixChick Tom-Tom is the spitting image of Greer. Also outstanding is Andy Serkis ("The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King"), out from under the imagery of Gollum to play Jenna's boss like a cross between Mr. Bean and Tim Curry.
The film looks sharp and bright, although Susie DeSanto's ("White Oleander") costuming for Jenna at thirty goes from cutting edge to prim pastels, apparently meaning that only cutthroat executives can be fashionable. The soundtrack is a boon to mainstream 80's nostalgia, featuring such songs as Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield" and Madonna's "Crazy for You."
"13 Going on 30" has no right to be called good, but it is surprising how intermittently entertaining it can be.
C+
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