13 Going on 30

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker, Jim Gaffigan
Directed by: Gary Winick
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2004

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Jenna (Jennifer Garner) is 13 years old. She hates her life and wants to skip forward to adulthood. With the help of some magic wishing dust, she wakes up to discover she has achieved exactly that- she is now 30 years old!

Review:

Tim: I would have liked to hate this movie, but it does put an interesting twist on this story. I'll get it out of the way right now- this movie is really just Big for women. Now, Jennifer Garner is no Tom Hanks, and this is no Big. However, that being said, this movie is far better than I ever expected.

The movie succeeds primarily because of the performance of Jennifer Garner. She gives such an energetic performance. She totally commits to the role, and conveys the childlike innocence that needed to be present for this movie to work. You actually believe Garner is a 13-year-old girl trapped in a 30-year-old's body. This is an amazing achievement and speaks volumes about her acting ability. I hate to say this because this is totally a girl movie, but Garner is terrific here.

I also really liked the performance of Mark Ruffalo. The first few times I saw him, I was not a fan at all. However, he gives such great performances that it is impossible not to like him. He and Garner get along beautifully in this film. They have a good deal of chemistry. I really enjoyed seeing him in this film.

13 Going on 30 is completely a chick flick. However, the movie is just a great deal of fun, and it will be hard not to like it. Take the Thriller scene for example- I don't care who you are, what your demographic- this is a great scene. This movie transcends genres and expectations. It is a great deal of fun.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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