The Parent Trap is a remake of the Hayley Mills classic. It stars none other than Lindsday Lohan. She’s actually pretty good here. In a pre-sex appeal role, Lohan plays two twins who have never met, but then do. They concoct a plan to switch identies on their respective divorced parents. Lohan pulls off both twin personalities quite well. The movie also stars the always reliable Dennis Quaid and the extremely talented Natasha Richardson. It might be fun for kids, and Lohan fans, but this is NOT a case of…the remake being better than the original. It’s an okay movie, and way too long.
Audio
This Double Trouble Edition
offers a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix. The score comes through nicely on the rear speakers and the dialogue is clear and clean. Not a lot of complaints here. Occasional rear effects, but overall this is a solid mix.
Video
Presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, this video transfer is solid as well. Colors are bold, but natural. Sharpness gives way to softness on occasion, but I can’t complain too much. It’s a family film, and the transfer gives people what they want: a nice looking presentation. Well done!
Special Features
There are three featurettes here. “Updating a Classic” is a nice featurette on the making of the film. The interviews were made at the time of production, 1998. “Accent on Fun” is a very short look at the coaching of British accents. “How Hallie Became Annie” is a brief look at the visual effects. It answered my eternal question of how twins, played by the same actor, could be in the same scene.
Rounding out the extras, we have one deleted scene, “Meeting the Queen”. There’s an optional director commentary; she gives the patented “we loved this scene, but had to cut it out” speech. There is also an audio commentary by director Nancy Myers, producer Charles Shyer, and cinematographer Dean Cundey. This is fairly dead air-less commentary. Very comprehensive too. Lots of mention of Lohan, but no Lohan on the commentary. Fans might be disappointed.
Final Thoughts
This is an entertaining family film, and we get to see the movie that put Lindsay Lohan on the map. With excellent audio and video, the presentation looks and sounds great. The extras are a okay, but a little disappointing for a hyped up “Double Trouble Edition”.
Special Features List
- Audio Commentary
- Deleted Scene
- 3 featurettes