I was generally one of those folks who looked forward to remakes. If it was good in its first incarnation, the second should be even better, right? The remake of Dirty Dancing killed that naiveté once and for all. Even with this belief, however, when Disney remade the Parent Trap in 1998, I had no desire to see it at all. My memories of the original were too precious to be trifled with. (We won’t mention the sequels.)
The Hayley Mills comedy came out in 1961; I saw it for the first time in the early 1970s on TV when it ran as part of the Wonderful World of Disney, which aired on Sunday
When the Lindsay Lohan version came out, I ignored it. I had a four-year-old myself by then, and instead of taking him to see it, we watched the original. It wasn’t until years later, when a friend whose pop culture judgment I respect enormously said she thought the Lohan version was actually better than the original, that I finally broke down and rented the movie.
She was wrong. It wasn’t better. It was different but good. Parts of the original movie were better. And so were parts of the remake. Of course, neither movie satisfactorily answers the question: What kind of monster takes one of their children, leaves the other, and never mentions neither sibling nor other parent ever again?
Where the original is better:
Hysterical food fight during the dance after Sharon and her friends cut off a part of Susan’s skirt. The remake subtracts two years from the twins’ ages, making dances and boys a little out of reach, so this scene is cut completely.
Hayley Mills. She’s a better actress than Lohan (older and more experienced), and her Sharon and Susan characters are more distinct than Lohan’s Hallie and Annie.
Brian Keith. His California ranch owner was hunkier than Dennis Quaid’s vineyard owner.
Mitch’s ranch house. This personal setting – the house Maggie actually walked out of – was a more emotional setting for a reunion than a hotel.
Mitch and Maggie’s back story. Not sure what it was, but I bet they were together longer than Nick and Elizabeth’s meeting and marriage on a cruise ship. Also I’m sure Maggie’s tiresome mother had something to do with that break-up.
No annoying “downstairs” romance. Really, did anyone care about Chessie and Martin, who came across as closeted? (especially in leather…. And that Speedo… UGH.)
Where the remake is better:
Lohan’s hair. Hayley Mills was adorable and what they did to that poor girl’s hair is a crime.
Elizabeth’s character. Granted, the original Parent Trap came out in 1961, when it was unusual for women to have careers, but Maggie and Sharon lived with her parents; she dressed up like June Cleaver to attend Red Cross meetings and let her mother boss her around. Elizabeth was a famous wedding-dress designer and an inspiring figure to both daughters.
The chemistry between Nick and Elizabeth. Sure they got married too quickly and divorced even faster, but there was obviously a lot of love and hurt between these two characters. Mitch and Maggie screamed at each other constantly; she even gave him a black eye. It was hard to imagine them calming down and having a respectful relationship.
Meredith James. A much more attractive, formidable rival than Vicky Robinson, who was neither as young nor as charming as the character was supposed to be.
The ending. Nick and Hallie beat Elizabeth and Annie back to England… following her back because he didn’t do it the first time she left. Much more romantic and satisfying than Mitch telling Maggie he missed her hair pins in his fishing tackle box.
Where Both Movies Got It Wrong:
No explanation of how the twins ended up at the same camp. One giant coincidence is allowed per book/movie, but this one is too big for me.
No good explanation of the premise of the movie… but would any explanation be good enough? The original ignores it completely (although interestingly enough, there is dialogue in the novelization that never made it into the movie where Susan makes a pretty good guess), while the remake implies that Elizabeth took Annie back to England on an impulse. Still, keeping a parent and twin from a child is monstrous. Perhaps that aspect is ignored because addressing it reveals the parents to be narcissists.
Mitch and Nick being so old and boring that a young woman could only be interested in them for their money. Sorry, no. Brian Keith was a hunk and Dennis Quaid was nothing to sneeze at either.
Both Sharon and Annie are as equally at ease on that camping trip as Susan and Hallie are. Maybe life in a Maine camp loosened them up a bit, but honestly they should be almost as squeamish as Vicky and Meredith were.
But the lists above are merely quibbles. Whether you prefer the Parent Trap original flavor or Parent Trap extra spicy (ie Lohan and her red hair), you’ve picked a great movie. The remake is different, but still good. Who wouldn’t want to discover a secret twin… especially one you could switch lives with?
I’m anxious to see what Morgan writes about tomorrow! Check him out here!
Thanks for partaking in another madcap bloghop! And I think I read that novelization too.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a plot that doesn't stand up to too much scrutiny, unless you accept that they must have been really, really immature. But even still.
Great post! The original holds a special place in my heart and that prevented from watching the remake, but I think this article has convinced me to finally give it a try.
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