13 Going on 30

Review by: Lena Aburdene
LenaAburdene@TheCinemaSource.com

13 Going on 30 is one of those “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it” movies. The female version of the infamous movie Big is formulaic and predictable but nevertheless sweet and light-hearted.

Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner) is an awkward 13 year old girl with braces, abnormally large features and gangly limbs. We all remember the horrid days of our pre-pubescent youth where we struggled to fit in and find out place. 13 Going on 30 takes us back to those cringe-worthy times, the times that make most people breathe a sigh of relief thankful that those days are long gone. Jenna longs to be 30, fun, thriving and flirty when she is snubbed by the popular girls and left alone in a closet, only to be greeted by her chubby best friend Matty (Mark Ruffalo) instead of the Junior Varsity hottie. Magical circumstances occur and Jenna wakes up only to find herself in a satin negligee with a naked pro hockey player in her swanky New York City apartment. As she learns more about the new and improved 30 year old Jenna, she finds she is the editor of her favorite magazine, Poise. However, as time goes on she realizes that her desperation to be popular has turned her into a huge self absorbed bitch who will stomp on anyone to get what she wants. When she finds out that her friendship with Matty ended when she was 13 because she became part of the in-crowd, she starts to explore her past and realizes that maybe being “cool” isn’t what she wanted if that meant losing all the quality people in her life. 13 Going on 30 is a lesson. A lesson on how to treat people, one that preaches how important it is to be yourself and one that lets us know it’s what on the inside that counts. Ironically enough, the inner beauty shines through when Jenna and Matty turn out to be good looking and the popular kids either have had way too much plastic surgery or are now overweight, balding and driving taxi cabs. Ahh, the Al Bundy syndrome.

Yes, the ideas in this film have been seen before and are candy coated with idealism. The film offers a nice message, but is it reality? Do the underdogs all eventually come out on top? Are all popular kids nasty and mean? Is the saying, what goes around comes around really true? For 13 year old kids that are struggling to find themselves, this film lets them know it is okay to be an awkward dork. As long as they are a good person they will be rewarded for it in time. It’s definitely a nice change from Thirteen, the other recent film about 13 year olds. Even the popular 13 year ...