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Hallie and Annie are twins who were separated shortly after their birth due to the divorce of their parents. Lohan plays both Hallie Parker and Annie James. But this is a reminder that she was and is an incredibly talented person. For my millennial contemporaries, you may think of tabloid headlines the moment you hear Lohan's name. Much of the film's greatness comes from the acting performance by Lindsay Lohan. I haven't seen the earlier film or read the novel, but you should be aware of the source material. It is also an adaptation of Erich Kästner's German novel Lottie and Lisa ( Das doppelte Lottchen). That is due to it being a timeless story that is both well-written and well-acted.īefore I go any further, it must be said that this is a remake of the 1961 film that bears its name. It gets us past some levels of preposterousness in its plot (which I will discuss in a moment) by enthralling us in the story. There is no condescension in that statement. Directed by Nancy Meyers, it completely consumes us in the story of two estranged twins, Annie and Hallie (both played by a young Lindsay Lohan), trying to reunite their parents - Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth James (the late Natasha Richardson). The 1998 version of The Parent Trap is such a film. But, as with any film, I simply ask that such movies be well-written and stay true to the story they're telling. Sometimes you want to have fun and be utterly consumed by the world on the screen. I generally prefer such films, and even I don't always want that from a movie experience.
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Not everyone wants to go to the movies to see a gritty drama about life and death. However, I think escapism is a vitally important power of film. Personally, my movie tastes tend to dramas most often. Sometimes I think we use the term "escapism" as a negative, that somehow it's lesser art. And there are great movies that help us escape into another world - whether real or fanciful - for a short time. There are great movies that make us laugh or look at life with a satirical eye.
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There are great movies that make us think and consider the realities of human existence. One of my favorite aspects of movies is their ability to affect us in many different ways.
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