There are two movies that follow the same basic premise and they are both good. Lindsay Lohan was a good child actress, but my heart will always belong to the original that I grew up watching. Haley Mills was cute and in everything and Maureen O'Hara was a feisty, passionate beautiful woman that I wanted to grow up to be.
I watched the original a little while ago and had some thoughts about how I view it differently now than I did as a child (kind of like The Little Mermaid and how I really empathize with King Triton.)
As a child:
a. I so wanted to go to summer camp. it looked like so much fun and seemed to last forever.
b. My mom would whoop my ass if I let another kid cut my hair off. Then she'd buzz my hair like a boy.
c. Although I was impetuous and curious as a child, the idea of going to some strangers house and lying through my teeth was daunting. How could they be so excited to jump into the unknown? Didn't they miss their primary parent?
d. Why do they always say grandfathers always smell like licorice and pipe smoke? Mine smelled like aftershave or lawnwork and sunshine.
e. Vicky is awful! Icky Vicky (great song from Fairly Odd parents that did not exist in 1961) She deserved all the pranks they pulled.
f. Hahaha they made her look like a fool clacking sticks together and they almost drowned her. hahaha
g. Looks like love is full of fighting and passion and hitting the guy. (In many shows/movies that was the thing with romances. It wasn't until Rosanne that I saw a family that was comfortable, smartassed and blue collar. Not too much passionate fighting)
h. Lucky for the parents that they had twins, they both could have a kid. Perfect solution.
i. And they lived happily ever after. They were married. They will all live together as a happy family. The girls will be the best of friends or even closer as sisters. Yay!
As an adult:
a. My god! All those children causing problems. Destroying property. Covering children with honey while they are in the middle of the woods where there could be bears. Bears! Jeez Lois! How do they find sane adults who volunteer for this?!
b. Where is this summer camp that a rancher from California (West coast) and an elite upperclass socialite from Boston (East coast) mutually take their children? Illinois? Ohio? Iowa, Kansas? If it is in fact in the middle? Or does one parent have to travel farther? Why are they traveling out of state? Most summer camps are not very far from home. I don't get it.
c. As a hairdresser, I can say that that kid did not cut that girls hair exactly like hers. Especially with those dull scissors. And I cringe as both a parent and hairdresser at that scene.
d. Well. Same thoughts on grandpas. They all smell different. My dad worked on machines for a time. He also delivered pizza. So, he has smelled differently to his grandkids. But I do understand what they are doing. Our sense of smell can draw out memory quicker than any other sense.
e. Vicky is not so bad a little vain but she did try at the beginning but the girls made things miserable, including bringing back the sexy ex-wife that her fiance' still loved. Then on the camping trip they were awful and endangered her life and the father just waved it off. I would be pissed off, too.
f. Although they showed the arguments between the Exes and she punched him, they also highlighted their history together. Even the little things like her stockings hanging in the bathroom.You could tell that they had genuine feelings for each other, but they both let pride get in the way. They aren't perfect together by the end, but they have learned to be less self-involved and prideful. Maybe they grew up a bit and can talk things out.
g. There are so many types of love. You really just have to find someone who compliments you and brings out the best in you.
h. How could they have split the children like that and keep it a secret? Yes. They both have a kid to dote on and nobody has to go without their kid for the holidays or weekends, but honestly. As a parent, how could they live like that? Did they never wonder about the other daughter? Just because there were 2 of them doesn't diminish one of them. That would be like splitting up my two girls (not twins but 1 yr apart.) I couldn't do it. I loved my girls since before I met them when they were in my belly and then when they were babies with their own unique starter personalities. I had trouble going out on dates with my husband and leaving them with a sitter for a couple hours. I can't imagine letting one of them go for 10 years. 10 freakin' years without seeing them. It wouldn't matter that the other child is safe and perfectly happy with their dad. No!! I need to see my babies always. Oh, well they lived on opposite sides of America and it was before computers. I. Don't. Care. Nothing would keep us apart and I wouldn't keep the other girl from her father or her sister. Hell no. If I had to I would move to his state if he had to be there. Fine. I will see both my babies grow up and so will he. They are both equally important and special in my heart. Their arrangement was stupid and selfish and childish. It wasn't fair to either parent, nor other family/friends and especially not to those sisters. Ya'll suck. You're lucky those girls didn't hate you for your BS.
i. I know marriage doesn't equal automatic Happily Ever after. Life happens and you go through good times and bad and hopefully you make it out the other side together. Besides, what about the practical stuff? She has a career and life in New York. He has a ranch and life in California. Both girls have school come the fall. Where do they plan to live? Who is changing their entire life? Which kid has to say goodbye to their school friends they've had their entire school career. What about Grandpa? If they move to California, does Grandpa automatically go or does he get left behind? Or the dad's housekeeper that is as close as family and has family of her own in California? I mean, yeah, they'll probably work something out but you cut it off right after the marriage and the girls being sooooo happy as flower girls. Also, these girls might still be close because they are happy to not be an only child anymore, but they might also be so different that they become those sisters that can't be around each other--especially considering the way their parents approach relationships.
There's more I could go on about but that covers some of the main things in my mind.
What do you think about the Parent Trap? Is there another movie that you've watched as an adult that you saw in a completely different perspective? Is there anything Major that I forgot that made you go hmm...?
Let me know.
