#Gary Nelson

[lobbycards]

The Black Hole, German lobby card. West German theatrical release 1980

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Joseph Bottoms - The Black Hole (1979)

[gatutor]

Barbara Harris-Sparky Marcus "Un viernes alocado" (Freaky friday) 1976, de Gary Nelson.

[yen-sids-tournament]

Freaky Friday pt1: Original, Jodie Foster/Barbara Harris (1976) v Remake 1, Shelley Long/Gabby Hoffmann (1995)

The original source material was a children's book; Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers (who was the '76 screenwriter)

You do not have to see both to vote, but it might have been helpful.

Feel free to share opinions or explanations with comments/tags/rbs

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Freaky Friday (Nelson, 1976)

Gave this a rewatch to celebrate the birthday of the great Jodie Foster. While it's unlikely anyone would cite this as their favourite of her performances, she's always been a tremendously talented actress even from this age. And while I've unfortunately neglected much of Barbara Harris' filmography, that's something I definitely need to change, and I'm open to the argument that she's one of the great unsung actresses of the 1970s. Don't point me to any reviews praising her work. Those are written. The praises need to be sung. Anyway, given that their characters pull a switcheroo and end up in each others' bodies, the movie mines both Foster's precociousness and Harris' impishness for a good deal of comedic mileage.

But aside from nicely showcasing both actresses, another reason this holds up nicely is it doesn't feel as rigorously commercial and calibrated for mass appeal as Disney's output in more recent years. I wouldn't go so far as to call it transgressive (although there is at least one gag that likely had parents spilling their popcorn, pretending not to hear and then pulling the "ask your mother" card when they took their kids to the theatre), Gary Nelson, here and in The Black Hole, directs without caring to colour too neatly within the lines. There is the expected gentle satire about the expectations both mother and daughter are subject to and the accompanying life lessons and positive messages. But unlike in the remake (which is pretty good, for what it's worth, although it would be nice if they brought Foster back for the new one), the father, as played by John Astin, is allowed to be genuinely off putting in a multitude of ways. And what recent children's movie would cast Patsy Kelly as a maid and make a punchline out of her alchoholism? None. Because she's dead. But also because Bob Iger is a COWARD.

And while this goes big and zany in the climax as many a family friendly film tends to do, it packs in an impressive number of gags, including another jab at Patsy Kelly's drinking problem. There is the expected mugging against rear projection, but I'm not gonna pretend I'm above laughing at Harris pretending to water-ski.

[angelstills]

Freaky Friday (1976)

[eclecticpjf]

Now watching:

[andersalsdieandern]

[80smovies]

[fourorfivemovements]

Films Watched in 2025: 14. Murder in Three Acts (1986) - Dir. Gary Nelson

[lobbycards]

The Black Hole, German lobby card. West German theatrical release 1980

[have-you-seen-this-film-polls]

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone - Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987)

[gatutor]

Anthony Perkins-Yvette Mimieux "El abismo negro" (The black hole) 1979, de Gary Nelson.

[haverwood]

The Black Hole Gary Nelson USA, 1979 ★★ Things start off great with a terrific theme, an extremely goofy vibe and some enjoyable mishaps.

Then the movie stops dead in the middle and I was worried that the fun was gone, but then it picks up again and ends up in a very entertaining and silly non-ending.