Sometimes a formulaic movie rises above its material due to the charm and performance of its star. 13 Going On 30 is one such movie. We've seen this plot before in Big with Tom Hanks and in its numerous followers the last 15 years. We have a female version of Big this time, starring the wonderful Jennifer Garner from ABC's Alias. It's impossible not to like her performance, which is charming, heartfelt, full of wide-eyed innocence, and star-making. It's clear from watching this film that Ms. Garner is headed for major roles in the future. While the film seems geared toward a female teenage demographic, there's plenty of wish fulfillment to go around for guys too. I mean who wouldn't want to be Mark Ruffalo in this film? To have a hot girl like Jennifer Garner calling you Matty and trying to make things up to you is enough for any male to maintain interest. The 13 year old Jenna wishes she was 30 when her birthday party goes awry and she blames it on her best friend Matty(Ruffalo). At 30, she wakes up as Jennifer Garner, and is forced to try to make sense of what's going on. In the spirit of the better recent body switch movies, like Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, 13 Going On 30 isn't just a movie with comical results. There is also sort of a moral to learn, which makes the film all the more endearing. Sure there are several parts to the movie that require an enormous suspension of disbelief, such as how Jenna goes from 13 to 30, how Matty would even want to bother with her at 30, working with her magazine colleagues with a 13 year old brain, and especially what she proposes to revamp the magazine she works for. Do we really believe the public is ready to discard celebrity gossip and layouts in favor of ordinary people? Do 13 year old girls really wish they were 30 at times? I'm not so sure about that. However, the complications that ensue via the charming Garner captivate us, and make us yearn for a second chance for something in our pasts too. We can all identify with that. The dance sequences weren't as fun as they were intended to be; because, most of the songs in the film were released long before Jenna would have turned 13 in the movie, making them seem out of sync with her time line. Garner's bounce and energy were enough to carry this film, which is above average of its type. *** of 4 stars.
Review of 13 Going on 30
