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The Parent Trap (1998)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 47
Fresh: 40 | Rotten: 7

Writer-director Nancy Meyers takes the winning formula of the 1961 original and gives it an amiable modern spin, while young star Lindsay Lohan shines in her breakout role.

Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 4

Writer-director Nancy Meyers takes the winning formula of the 1961 original and gives it an amiable modern spin, while young star Lindsay Lohan shines in her breakout role.

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Movie Info

The husband-and-wife team of Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer, who scored with their 1991 remake of the 1950 Father of the Bride, returned for this updating of the 1961 comedy about twins who hope to bring their divorced parents back together. Sheyer and Meyers stayed close to the original screenplay by David Swift, based on Erich Kastner's book Das Doppelte Lottchen. At a summer camp in Maine, 11-year-old Hallie Parker (Lindsay Lohan) meets Annie James (also Lindsay Lohan). Despite a curious

PG, 2 hr. 7 min.

Comedy, Kids & Family

Directed By: Nancy Meyers

Written By: Nancy Meyers, David Swift, Charles Shyer

In Theaters: Jul 29, 1998 Wide

On DVD: Mar 16, 1999

Walt Disney Productions

Cast

Lindsay Lohan
Hallie Parker / Annie J...
Dennis Quaid
Nick Parkes
Natasha Richardson
Elizabeth James
Elaine Hendrix
Meredith Blake
Lisa Ann Walter
Chessi
Simon Kunz
Martin
Polly Holliday
Marva Kulp Sr.
Maggie Wheeler
Marva Kulp Jr.
Ronnie Stevens
Grandfather Charles Jam...
Erin Mackey
Hallie / Annie (Acting ...
Joanna Barnes
Vicki Blake
Courtney Woods
Hallie Meyers-Shyer
Katerina Graham
Maggie Emma Thomas

Critic Reviews for The Parent Trap

All Critics (47) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (7) | DVD (22)

This 1998 romantic comedy mostly bores with its cumbersome exposition and close-ups of trivial objects scattered throughout lackluster montage sequences.

May 27, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

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Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

New pic is slick, sentimental and exceptionally well cast, with enough cross-generational appeal to suggest strong commercial potential.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Variety

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Joe Leydon

Variety

Top Critic

Movies like this remember how much fun escapism can be.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

The lavish, super-cute new version of The Parent Trap is a remake of the 1961 Hayley Mills hit, which was seriously adorable in its own right

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: New York Times

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Janet Maslin

New York Times

Top Critic

It never fails to amaze me that something as essentially light and pointless as Disney's remake of The Parent Trap can clock in at over two hours in length.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews

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James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

Richardson and Quaid, who is beginning to resemble Harrison Ford in his rumpled mode, have great chemistry. It's a shame it takes so long for the movie to bring them together to demonstrate it.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

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Ruthe Stein

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

The technology for twinning a single young actress is considerably more seamless than it was in 1961, and Lohan is a perky charmer.

May 27, 2011 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

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Maitland McDonagh

TV Guide's Movie Guide

The whole thing is pleasant enough -- provided you can suspend your disbelief for long enough to accept that all English people talk in plummy accents, swan around Kensington and have butlers.

May 27, 2011 Full Review Source: Film4

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Film4

Delightful remake is great for the whole family.

September 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

The light comedy is sweetly timed, the direction smart and assured, and the visuals bright, colourful, unobtrusive and faultless.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

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Wally Hammond

Time Out

The Parent Trap provides a nice snapshot of Lohan before she became a tabloid nightmare.

September 28, 2005 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures

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Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

Lindsay Lohan doesn't have the same charisma as Mills, nor does she sing or juggle the two roles with as much deftness, but she's still plenty engaging.

June 2, 2005 Comment

James Plath

Reel.com

Lindsay at twice her best...

June 1, 2005 Full Review | Comment

Michael Szymanski

International Press Academy

I don't mind saying there were more than a few teary-eyed moments for me; and, yes, I mostly fell in love with the characters all over again. (Special Edition DVD)

May 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

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John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

Even if you've seen and enjoyed the original Parent Trap, this 1998 update should make you happy all over again.

May 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

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John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

Agreeable remake of the 60s Disney hit.

December 29, 2003 Comment

Dan Lybarger

Nitrate Online

A light-hearted Disney remake...Lohan makes an impressive debut.

November 25, 2003 Comment

Shawn Bowers

Kansas City Star

...exactly the sort of easy-going, endlessly engaging family film that seems to have become an unusually rare breed in this day and age.

August 1, 2003 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Lohan is cute and charming, as would be expected, but she also brings a street-savvy quality to both her roles, and distinguishes them well enough for us to tell the difference, even if no one in the movie can.

February 8, 2003 Full Review Source: Film Quips Online

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John R. McEwen

Film Quips Online

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Audience Reviews for The Parent Trap

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Surprisingly cute movie and well done. My daughters loved it.

June 29, 2008

John Manard

Super Reviewer

This remake is a lot like the original, except of course it tries to modernize the story, make it more realistic for today's audience. It's good, actually, but it will never be as good as the original, of course.

September 6, 2010