Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 04:32:02

A Simple Feel-Good Film

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I would like this movie, then the film beganwith the Go-Go's song Head Over Heels, and that alone got my attention.This movie brought me back to that time in my life, growing up in the80's. Matt, or Mattie, reminded me of me at that time. Hopelessly inlove with my childhood friend. Mattie's Jenny was my Kira. Thesoundtrack, which consists of cheesy songs like Ice Ice Baby to thedanceable Thriller, was perfect for this film in every way. I reallyenjoyed every minute of this movie. It makes you wonder what thingswould be like if you could change your past. I praise Jennifer Garner,along with her young co-star lookalike, for their wonderful energy andhonesty. I feel bad for those who thought this film was a waste oftime. You obviously didn't get it.

Minted_Lamb 2012-05-24 13:59:07

A jigsaw puzzle with every piece in-place

Set your phone to silent, gather together some favourite snack-foodswith a hot & some cold drinks, & settle-down to an evening of magic &romance. Jennifer is gorgeous as the overnight-adult & Judy issurprising believable as her back-stabbing friend. Some of you may knowJudy as the invisible go-for in What Women Want.Jennifer & Judy are the two hot-shot fashion gurus of Poise magazineunder threat in an all-out ratings war. Jennifer is a fish-out-of-waternot having lived the previous 17 years & turns to her high-schoolboyfriend Mark Ruffalo who by now has turned photography from a hobbyinto his career. Unhappy with her 30s lifestyle Jennifer finds Mark isabout to marry somebody else as she tries to save Poise & put-rightevents leading-up to where she is today. If you buy the DVD thedocumentaries will delight too; teen & 30 Judy actually look like mom &daughter.

ehutson2001 2012-05-22 20:50:30

Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo both aced it!

This has automatically become one of my all-time favorite movies!I wasn't really familiar with either Mr. Ruffalo or Ms. Garner beforeseeing this movie (although I had seen "Alias" a time or two). But thismovie made me an instant fan of both of them, and made me anxious tocheck out some of their other performances.Mr. Ruffalo does a terrific job of the "guy-next-door" and "anythingfor a friend" parts.And Ms. Garner! All I can say is "Wow!" With the mannerisms and facialexpressions, she made it easy to believe that there was actually a13-year-old girl trapped in that body!The story was charming (if a little far-out) and I applaud the songsfrom the eighties that they used. ("Vienna" by Billy Joel has alwaysbeen one of my favorites). Do yourself a favor - go see this one a.s.a.p.Did I mention that Jennifer Garner deserves a big "Wow!"?

DJAkin 2012-05-22 05:53:14

A feel good movie

OMG this was a good movie and quite cute. The little girl that playedthe 13 year old Jennifer Garner actually did LOOK like Jennifer. Thatwas really interesting. The bully girl also looked like her olderversion. If you like great movies then this movie is for you! Yes, itis a chick flick but it delivers the goods. I loved the part where theywere dancing to the Michael Jackson song "The Thriller". That washysterical! Was this a time travel movie? Not sure. Was it a dream? Yoube the judge. All I do know is that if you like to smile during a moviethen you owe it to youself to see this movie.a great tear jerker.

Mike Colpitts 2012-05-20 17:19:29

Three Stars (Out of Five)

Let me start off by saying that this review may be a wee bit biased.This is due to the fact that I'm a HUGE Alias fan and, therefore, inlove with its star, Jennifer Garner. And, since Garner just so happensto be the star of 13 Going on 30, there was little chance that I couldhate the movie. OK, so that's not true. I'm a HUGE Buffy the VampireSlayer fan as well (and, of course, I'm in love with Sarah MichelleGellar) but I hated Simply Irresistible, which was basically SMG'sequivalent of 13 Going on 30. Anyway, I'm kinda rambling on so I'll getback to the review at hand.13 Going on 30 is Big meets It's a Wonderful Life. The aforementionedJennifer Garner plays Jenna, a 13 year old in 1987 who hates her bodyand her life. All she wants is to be a sexy, care-free 30 year old witha kick-ass job. Her best friend, Matt (Ruffalo) gives her a model ofher dream house for her birthday and, with it, a packet of wishingdust. A rather coincidental ... umm ... coincidence occurs that allowssaid dust to fall on Jenna as she's making her wish to be 30. Beforeyou know it, it's 2004 and Jenna is a smoking 30 year old hotty with akick-ass job. The only problem is, Jenna still thinks she's 13 ... so,of course, hilarity ensues.The screenplay by Yuspa, Goldsmith and Mueller has its clever moments /dialogue but it's a tough task not to look like Big and thescreenwriters just aren't quite up to the task. Luckily, Garner is morethan game for this material, and she totally takes this movie in herhands and steers it clear past the finish line. Like Tom Hanks in Big,it's hard to imagine another actor (or, in this case, actress) whocould've played this role so perfectly. It takes an actor who can reachthe innermost kid in him/herself and run with it. Hanks could do that;so can Garner. Not to be over-shadowed though is Ruffalo, who makesMatt a wholly three dimensional character in a movie that would justassume have him stay one-dimensional. There isn't much in thescreenplay that suggests the need to take this character further, but -thankfully - Ruffalo disagrees. And, for that, I thank him. DirectorWinick, who helmed the charming shot-on-video Tadpole a few years back,does an adequate job with his first big Hollywood movie. He does whatneeds to be done and he knows when to just sit back and let his actorsdo their jobs.I know this review's fairly short but it's hard to do an in-depthreview for a movie that's not very in-depth. This is fine, though, asthe movie doesn't require much depth. Garner is charming as always andproves that she is an ample comic actor. On top of that, her andRuffalo have excellent chemistry, which can really make or break amovie like this. The screenplay and direction do what they can, neitherexceeding nor usurping their duties.The movie is what it is, and the trailers / TV spots didn't promiseanything that isn't delivered. If you go in expecting a charmingcomedic fantasy then I think you'll walk out with a smile on your face.What more can you ask for?

2012-05-20 08:35:10

Wasted Possibilities

The same that I can say about "Eurotrip" in his camp can be said about this one in its own. Sweet, over short, and abandons all kind of interesting possibilities of time-travel change-of-age films (and it had both!). Going from '87 to 2004 could've been a hell of a trip, but no comment is made on the changing times (out of a little joke about a cellphone). C'mon, Internet, PC's everywhere, CGI in your TV all the time, something needed to make Jenna wonder about change! (need not to speak about Blackberries or the Twin Towers!).

Roxiebabie21 2012-05-15 20:08:03

Only Okay

The movie "13 going on 30" was one of those movies that I would probablyonly watch if there was nothing else on TV. The movie is about a girl,JennaRink, who on her 13th birthday makes a wish to be 30 because she sees anarticle in Poise saying that the 30s are the best years of your life. Whenshe is 30 though, she realizes she grew into the woman that she hated as a13 year old and the guy next door is the one who she loves.This movie was prety good, but parts of it seemed forced. Some of thejokeswere set up and fully forced. But overall, it was cute. I wouldn't see itagain, but I think once was plenty.7/10

2012-05-15 13:06:50

great movie

This review is from: 13 Going On 30 (Special Edition) (DVD) both my wife and i enjoy this movie.very light hearted.. not really a slap your knee comedy but a wholesome fun movie..

2012-05-13 08:46:05

Quaint and cute

I want to preface this by saying I just don't understand Jennifer Garner's appeal. Sure, she's 13 going on 30, but somewhere around 25 there was an incident with hormone therapy and a malpractice suit. The first part of the movie takes place in 1987 in a town that doesn't listen to music made after 1983. (Bonus points for The Go-Go's being on the soundtrack.) Having a small place in my heart for romantic comedies, I was pleasantly pleased.

dianawannabe1129 2012-05-12 22:24:50

One of my all time favorite movies.

When I first saw this movie, I wasn't expecting much. I thought it wasjust going to be another simple romantic comedy. I was blown away!Jennifer Garner is wonderful as Jenna, Mark Ruffalo is a greatsupporting role as Matt, and Christa B. Allen as young Jenna is alsogood. I see Allen starring in more movies in the future. My favoritepart is when the magazine editors are all dancing to "Thriller". Eversince then, I've practiced the moves. I did them at camp, and everyonewas impressed. Richard Roeper liked this movie. I have to say I agreewith him. I've heard Roeper is an idiot, but he liked this movie, whichis always a plus! Go see it if you get the chance!

2012-05-09 21:08:28

A surprising romantic comedy

I was surprised when I began watching my daughter's movie and couldn't stop. I sat down, grabbed the popcorn, and covered with the blanket. My eyes were glued to the TV until the last credits rolled. A VERY funny, sweet movie where the underdog, innocent, deserving girl wins!

ravenccs 2012-05-09 08:15:53

It's about time!

A feel GREAT movie. I am so SICK of feel BAD movies!! I needed a liftthis weekend and I got it by watching this movie! I even watched ittwice (extremely RARE).Okay, okay, I am a Jennifer Garner fan... My name is RAVEN and I am anAlias Addict. I haven't attended any meetings yet (AA stands for morethan just Alcoholics Anonymous), but who wants to quit an Aliasaddiction??!! .. and maybe Jennifer was the main reason I felt great. Anyway, Mark Ruffalo was perfect in his role. Nuff said about that.The message about what you THOUGHT you wanted in high school hasNOTHING to do with what you want when you are older is EXACTLY true. Idon't remember any other movie covering this in quite the same way.If you want to feel good, if you LOVE Jennifer Garner and (at least)like Mark Ruffalo, spend the money to watch this movie.

sunsetb423 2012-05-08 21:09:39

Fabulous

I loved this movie so much. I am a huge fan of Jennifer Garner and an avidAlias watcher so I think I would have loved it no matter what, but it farsurpassed my expectations. Garner was adorable, funny, sexy and perfect forJenna. Mark Ruffalo was great, cute and you could tell how he felt aboutJenna from the beginning....The whole cast was great. It was funny,romantic, cute and fabulous.Garner by far was the best part of this movie. The music was great (love80's music), the clothing was fantastic (I dream of having a closet likethat)...the ending was perfect. I just loved it.And who knew that Andy Serkis could be so great. He'll still always beGollum to me though.Thriller had to be my favorite scene.

2012-05-08 11:49:57

Fun movie with a great message

This review is from: 13 Going on 30 (Amazon Instant Video) I loved this movie. Great acting and a great message about how choices we make in life impact us.

2012-05-04 02:27:47

The female version of "Big"

This is a delightful movie with strong messages about what is important in life. It has some plot similarities to "Big" the Tom Hanks movie about the boy who wishes to become an adult and, through improbable means, gets his wish.Jenna Rink is a 13 year old girl who is heavily influenced by the fashion culture and she wants to be in with the in crowd girls who are great looking and have great looking boyfriends. When Jenna bargains to get these cool kids to come to a party at her house, they pull a cruel trick on her. She blames it on Matt, her un-hip but sincere guy friend and blows him off. Then she wishes to be "thirty, flirty, and successful" while magic dust that happens to be present, falls on her.Next thing Jenna remembers, she falls out of bed and is in an apartment and sees a naked man getting out of the shower and addressing her in terms of endearment. She also has about a hundred shoes and an array of makeup. Over time, Jenna figures out what happened. She has time-traveled to a later point in her life with no memory of what happened in between.Jenna becomes aware that she is at age 30 in the year 2004 (when this movie came out) the editor of one of those fashion magazines that shaped her values as a teenager. She also has an attractive boyfriend, the aforementioned naked man in her apartment. Jenna is successful in the way she defined success. What Jenna finds out about the course of her life in many instances makes her feel ashamed. She has done several unethical things in running the magazine. Also, her friendship with Matt dissolved a long time ago and worse, he is about to marry someone else.Jenna realizes that the editors at her fashion magazine don't have a clue about real friends and real fun. Jenna's magazine, Poise, as well as its competitor Sparkle are obviously based on Glamour and Cosmopolitan and in some cases the movies may be ridiculing them.The movie opens with Jenna being 13 in 1987 and includes popular culture from that era. Some of the songs featured, however, were from the early 1980's, were out of style by 1987 and had not yet achieved nostalgic value.Despite being a chick flick, this movie will make you think.

2012-05-03 13:32:27

Cute - a relaxing no brainer

This review is from: 13 Going On 30 (Special Edition) (DVD) This was a very cute and entertaining movie. It's certainly not academy award quality and will never become a classic; but, it allows you to be entertained without having to do a lot of existential analysis. It's sole purpose is to entertain and it does an all right job of it.

2012-05-02 05:40:21

a formula with great ingedients

As mentioned before, this is formula piece, making no bones about the fact that it is basically Big with girls. As Big put TomHanks in the forefront of comic actors, this film was to do that for Jennifer Garner. Somewhere along the line, I am not sure it did that for Jennifer, but it is a fun film, and she is spectacular.Fundamentally we pretty much know how it is all going to turn out, but these ingredients really help in making the whold thing workGarner is hilariously upbeat, and the concept of her finding out what has happened to her in the past 17 years is kind of cool twist.Mark Rufalo seems like a weird romantic comedy lead, but he does a great job in the movie. Because the character is a bit of a loner, with a bit of a secret, Rufalo is able to put his method acting qualities to very good efffect.The first section is set in the 80's. Who doesn't love trashing the 80's.I must admit that the concept kind of creeped me out, a thirteen year old girl in a 30 year old body, with thirty year old men hitting on her. Yes, it is the same with BIG, and unfortunately, the coming of age of young men is sort of looked at as a touchstone, whereas the coming of age of young women is looked on as gross and purient when there is 17 years difference between them. This however is handled with great care...the one scene with the man hitting on her in the restaurant is fantastic.all in all, it is a great, fun movie....a little diverted by the "fashion magazine" plot...but it has good laughs, a sort of a tugging at your heart element, and it is joyous to see Garner and Rufalo.but I could've done without the special feature of all the pretty movie stars talking about what big geeks they were

2012-05-01 19:53:07

Sweet

Let me say first of all that I am a huge Jennifer Garner fan, but I liked nearly everything else about this movie too.The casting was great, I really enjoyed the music, and the story (a sort of female version of Big) was predictable but very enjoyable. It is FUN, which is just what it set out to be.The special edition DVD features were fairly extensive, giving insight into both the production and the actors' personal experiences as teenagers. I enjoyed the blooper reel, but it left me wanting more, as it looked like they had lots of fun on the sets. Some of the deleted scenes really would have helped continuity a bit, had they *not* been deleted.Jennifer Garner (as Jenna Rink) gives a thoroghly enjoyable performance. She is utterly believable as a 13yr old in a 30yr old's body, especially nearer the beginning of her "time warp." Jenna is so sweet and [unintentionally] funny, and does a phenomenal (if not very realistic) job of growing up in a hurry. "Magazine Publishing for Dummies," indeed. Ms. Garner does a fantastic job of emoting -- every emotion comes through loud and clear, and she really takes you with her. As I said before, I'm a huge fan, and therefore biased, but I just loved Jenna Rink.Mark Ruffalo (as Matt Flamhaff) does a terrific job as an all-around [understandably conflicted] good guy. Matt & Jenna were best friends when they were 13, and then they weren't. But when she comes knockin' he's not bitter. Cynical maybe, cautious maybe, still a little wounded, but still concerned that his former friend is upset. Been there, done that, and I *reach*, brother. I believed it. "Arrivederci. [...] Au revoir." I loved that bit where he knew what she meant but didn't want to loosen up and play the game at first.As for the supporting cast, Judy Greer (Lucy), Marcia DeBonis (Jenna's assistant Arlene), and Andy Serkis (Richard) were all great. From Lucy's *attitude* to Arlene's cowering to Richard's moonwalk, they all gave gave gave. The kids were great too -- just the right mix of teenage awkwardness, angst, optimism, and herd behavior.The whole production was nicely done, with subtle touches such as Young Jenna's blindfold sort of morphing into Adult Jenna's sleep mask when she wakes up 30. Coolest music moment: Young Chris Grandy arriving to Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House." The ending was done so effectively that I just choked up on the spot. I can't recall a better-done ending. I could go on, but I've already written too much.I really struggled not to give this 5/5 because it was so much fun, but *perfect* must really be reserved for *perfect*. If I could only give it a 4.5...

marianne-55 2012-04-30 08:53:58

The best chick flick ever

I thought that this would be an at best mediocre chick flick. It seemsto be clichéd in the beginning: Jenna gets her wish with magic wishingdust and turns 30.So the beginning is a bit weird but it sets up for a great film withJenna finding out that she doesn't like the person she is in thefuture. And strangely bigger is better in this film because JenniferGarner's total overacting suits it well and makes it very funny.It's not just funny. At one point I found myself crying because thingsjust seemed so hopeless even though I knew there'd be a way to fix it.(Not so in real life unfortunately.) Watch out for Mark Ruffalo as thesweet Matt because he is HOT and I fell in love with him myself by theend of the movie.

2012-04-29 21:36:56

This movie is great!

I love this movie so much! Just because this movie is rated PG-13 does not mean it's bad! This movie is okay for ages 7 and up. I thought that this movie was soooo funny and enjoyable! I love the 50's and 80's so this movie was automatically good. My who family liked it too! So rent or buy this movie today! I know you'll like it! It's perfect for a family movie night!