Hallie Parker is an eleven-year-old girl who lives in California with her father Nick, a successful winemaker. She knows very little about her mother, from whom Nick was divorced when she was a baby, and is completely unaware that she has an identical twin sister living in England.
Annie James is an eleven-year-old girl who lives in London with her mother Elizabeth, a successful fashion designer. She knows very little about her father, from whom Elizabeth was divorced when she was a baby, and is completely unaware that she has an identical twin sister living in America.
And then, quite by chance, Hallie and Annie meet when they are sent to the same summer camp. They quickly realise that they are in fact sisters, and decide that it is their mission in life to reunite their parents. To achieve this ambition they hit upon a plan. Hallie will return to London, pretending to be Annie, and Annie will return to California, pretending to be Hallie. The one obstacle to their plans seems to be Nick's fiancée Meredith, attractive and seemingly charming but really scheming and mercenary.
There are plenty of plot holes in this film. I cannot see any divorce court, on either side of the Atlantic, sanctioning the bizarre arrangement Nick and Elizabeth evidently made about the future of their children. (The courts are often reluctant to split up siblings, especially twins). The British aristocracy do not normally send their children to American summer camps. (Elizabeth's father, with whom she lives in a huge London mansion, is evidently from the upper classes). Is it really conceivable that neither Nick nor Elizabeth would have told their child that she has a sister? And is it conceivable that neither of them would have seen through the deception that was being practised upon them, especially as Lindsay Lohan's English accent, both as Annie and as Hallie-pretending-to-be-Annie, often slips? (Hallie-pretending-to-be-Annie is eventually exposed by her grandfather, and Annie-pretending-to-be-Hallie by her father's maid).
Fortunately, this is the sort of film in which plot holes do not really matter, being a romantic comedy, not a serious, realistic drama. It effectively revives the "comedy of remarriage", a sub-genre of romantic comedy which deals with a divorced or separated couple who rediscover their love for one another. This type of film was very popular in the thirties and forties ("The Philadelphia Story" is perhaps the best-known example) and to a lesser extent in the sixties (the original "Parent Trap" was made with Hayley Mills in 1961) but has become less common in recent years.
There was perhaps a reason why Disney decided to remake this film and revive the genre. The story differs from most rom-coms in an important respect. Most romantic comedies focus upon the lovers themselves, but in this one Dennis Quaid as Nick and Natasha Richardson as Elizabeth end up playing supporting roles to the triumphal entry of Lindsay Lohan onto the world stage. This was, of course, the film which first launched Li-Lo onto an unsuspecting world, and it is she who steals the show. One film was all it took to establish herself as the most self-assured, charismatic and lovable child star of the age, just as Hayley Mills was in 1961. (Like Hayley, Lindsay plays both sisters). The focus on the film's child star makes it ideal for a family audience, whereas most romantic comedies are intended primarily for adults.
I've never actually seen the 1961 version so I can't compare the two, unlike many reviewers who seem to have a definite preference for one version or the other. The 1998 version is no great masterpiece, but it is an amiable and likable family comedy with a great little heroine. 6/10
