13 Going on 30 (2004) – Movie Review

Thirty, flirty, and thriving?
Well, Iím at least one of those things today.
Hey everybody, welcome to Mainely Movies.
Today Iíve got a very special and timely
review for you.
Iím gonna be talking about the 2004 fantasy
romantic comedy: 13 Going on 30.
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that extra content.
13 Going on 30 starts Jennifer Garner, Mark
Ruffalo, Judy Greer, and Andy Serkis and was
directed by Gary Winick.
It tells the story of Jenna Rink who on her
13th birthday in 1987 makes a wish that she
was older.
Her wish magically comes true and she wakes
up in the year 2004 as a 30 year old fashion
magazine editor, played by Jennifer Garner.
She has no memory of the missing years and
must reconnect with a childhood friend, played
by Mark Ruffalo, in order to understand what
happened to her life.
For the last sixteen years, Iíve been planning
to watch this movie today: February 28th,
2020.

/> Now that might seem like a weirdly specific
thing to plan for more than a decade and a
half, but I promise that I have a reason.
You see, today is my birthday.
And not just any birthday, but my 30th birthday.
Ah, now my crazy, oddly specific plan makes
all the sense in the world, right?
It might be kinda silly, but Iím being totally
honest about having planned this viewing since
the movie came out.
It always just seemed so perfect cause when
the movie came out, I had just turned 14 about
two months earlier.
And so just with the timing, Iíve always
had this age connection with the movie: 13
and now 30.
So, thereís no point in trying to keep my
feelings about this movie secret until the
rating portion of this video.
I mean, just the fact that Iíve had this
plan for so long makes it kinda obvious: I
absolutely love 13 Going on 30.
Not ironically, not in a guilty-pleasure sort
of way ñ I truly love this movie.
I thought it was fantastic when I saw it in
the theater back in 2004 and I still do today
on my umpteenth rewatch.
And itís crazy cause even though I have this
strong connection with the movie, my enjoyment
of it now isnít just because of nostalgia.
I think itís legitimately still a really
good movie as an adult.
I know itís got its problems (which Iíll
talk about in a bit) and that itís one of
those movie that most people view as an okay,
but mediocre romcom, but this is one of those
rare films that I get inexplicable joy from.
I canít even begin to venture a guess as
to how many times Iíve seen this movie and
even so, I could watch it on an infinite loop
and still be happy.
So what is it about this movie for me?
Iím not entirely sure, to be honest.
Itís just that all the individual pieces
come together in a way that really works for
me.
The characters are just so good and memorable.
I guess you could argue that theyíre kinda
the typical romantic comedy characters, but
theyíve always stood out to me compared to
similar-ish movies.
Especially the main characters of Jenna and
Matt.
Thereís just something so genuine about them,
both when theyíre kids and adults.
Even though itís in the context of this fantasy-romance
premise, they actually feel like theyíre
real people, which makes it really easy to
relate to this movie.
I think a major contributing factor to that
was the casting ñ itís perfect.
Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo are fantastic
in the lead roles.
Theyíve got this really charming and sweet
chemistry together and I honestly canít even
imagine anybody else playing these characters.
Another huge thing that makes this movie work
for me is the humor.
Again, Iíve seen this movie so many times,
but I still find it incredibly funny.
The premise obviously lends itself to some
great fish-out-of-water comedy, but itís
just so well done.
Jennifer Garner plays the goofy innocence
of the suddenly 30 Jenna perfectly.
Sheís got the mind of a 13 year old in the
life and body of a 30 year old, so seeing
how she responds to an array of situations
is just endlessly funny to me.
And not only is there that sort of body swap
comedy to her character, but sheís also out
of her time.
She makes her wish in 1987 and then wakes
up in 2004.
So, we get a lot of great scenes stemming
from her lack of knowledge of the future;
she doesnít know who Eminem is and she doesnít
even know what a cell phone is.
And so we get some seriously funny reactions
from her, but we also get some equally funny
reactions from the people around her who donít
understand what her problem is.
Mark Ruffalo has got some of my favorite cinematic
facial reactions of all time in this movie
and I can sit here and laugh just thinking
about him backing up into the wall as Jennaís
yelling for a fluffy pillow.
The interactions between Jenna and her secretary
and with her boss are also up there as some
of the funniest in the movie.
And even beyond the visual gags, this movie
has some hysterical dialogue.
Most of the stuff from Lucy falls a bit flat,
but everything else is just so good and quotable.
This movie also did the whole 80s nostalgia
thing about a decade before it became such
a popular and omnipresent thing.
And honestly, the 80s-nostalgia craze really
isnít something that I enjoy too much.
Iím not much of a fan of the 80s and all
the recent movies and shows focusing on the
decade feel like they try way too hard to
evoke nostalgia from people.
But this movie does it in such a fantastically
natural way, that I actually love it.
Even though 80s stuff is so prominent in this
movie, you never feel like youíre getting
beaten over the head with it.
And I think itís largely because of this
time travel-ish premise.
It makes sense that Jennaís mind would be
stuck in the 80s, so we get a ton of pop culture
references and a great, very memorable soundtrack
that features Rick Springfield, Michael Jackson,
Pat Benatar, The Go-Gos, Talking Heads, and
so many more.
I think itís really easy for people to knock
this film just because of what it is or, more
accurately, what it appears to be.
Romantic comedies from the early 2000s kinda
have this stigma to them.
Theyíre typically viewed as these cheesy
throwaway clones that are pretty much interchangeable
with each other.
And it would be even easier to dismiss this
particular film as very unoriginal cause of
its premise similarity to Big.
But this movie has a lot more to offer than
people give it credit for.
Yeah itís got the comedy and the fun premise
and great cast, but itís also a surprisingly
good coming-of-age story.
Again, another genre thatís a dime a dozen,
but this one just really works and captures
the experience of growing up so well.
It touches on so many emotional and just real
points in a personís life and truly does
work on both ends of the age spectrum.
When I first saw this in the theater, I was
just a touch over the titular age of 13 and
even though I never experienced the exact
scenarios that young Jenna Rink did, I could
still connect with the movie at that age.
I could understand her insecurities and empathize
with that overwhelming desire to grow up and
move on in life.
Today, rewatching the movie at the other titular
age of 30, I still connect with just as strongly
ñ simply in a different way.
I may not be a magazine editor and I donít
live in New York City, but I do have some
Razzles and I can really understand that feeling
of suddenly being an adult.
Of not feeling properly prepared for it at
all and missing the seemingly simpler times
of childhood.
Iíve now lived both sides of 13 Going on
30 and the movie really works no matter which
side of it youíre on.
Alright letís talk about the pros and cons.
This is one of those movies that I have way
too many pros for, but Iíll try to touch
on some of the big ones.
Pro number one is the comedy.
This movie just comedically works for me,
no matter how many times I watch it.
I really love fish-out-of-water stories and
the humor that comes from them, so this movie
already had an inherent boost to it.
But then itís got some insanely funny dialogue
and one-liners, plus tons of situational humor
and excellent reaction shots.
I have a feeling I find this movie a bit funnier
than the average person does, but itís endlessly
entertaining for me.
The second pro has gotta be the characters
and casting, especially the leads.
Jenna and Matt are such great, believable
and relatable characters and you really grow
to care about them over the course of the
movie.
Itís really easy to lose that connection
with characters in romantic comedies, but
I donít know ñ I just really like these
characters.
And Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo were
the perfect casting choices.
Neither are really known for their comedy,
but I think the fact that they arenít comedians
makes the humor more genuine.
They feel like real people in these, at times,
absurd situations and they just go together
so well.
Garnerís capable of playing up the goofy
innocence really well and Iíve yet to find
a romantic comedy starring Mark Ruffalo that
wasnít improved by his presence.
Or any type of movie for that matter.
Pro number three has gotta be the themes.
I know it might sound weird to be so highly
praising of a movie like this, but itís actually
got a really genuine and heartfelt message
at its core.
Under the romantic comedy facade, itís a
movie about growing up and dealing with the
pressures of being an adult, even when you
donít feel like youíre ready.
I guess the point is that you never feel ready,
so youíve gotta accept and enjoy the point
in your life that youíre at, in that moment.
Itís rare that a movie like this can capture
that coming-of-age struggle so well and itís
a movie that I was able to connect with at
13 just as well as Iíve been able to connect
with it at 30.
As far as the cons go, this movie definitely
has some issues, but none of them have ever
bothered me very much.
I guess the biggest issue is that itís very
predictable.
I mean, itís a romantic comedy, so you know
from the get-go whatís gonna happen with
the two leads and all the genre tropes youíre
gonna see.
And itís a movie about a kid who wishes she
was older and then gets that wish, you know
the basic lessons that sheís gonna learn
from the experience.
And Iíve said this in reviews before, but
sometimes predictability in a movie isnít
such a terrible thing.
As long as you can enjoy the ride, who cares
if you can anticipate the route itís gonna
take?
Con number two for me is the character of
Lucy.
Right from the beginning, sheís set up as
the character weíre supposed to hate, so
thatís not the thing that lands her on the
cons list.
Thereís just this unnatural quality to her
that stand out in the midst of all the believable
characters.
I think a big part of it is her characterís
dialogue which is frequently made up of things
that you might write, but would probably never
say cause of how unnatural it sounds.
And Judy Greer does a great job of making
you hate the character, but thereís something
about her performance and line delivery that
just feels a bit out of step with the rest
of the movie.
Before I give you my rating and recommendations,
I want to remind you that if you’re interested
in buying 13 Going on 30 or any of the other
films I’ve mentioned today, I do have affiliate
links to all of them in the description below.
I get a small commission from anything you
buy using one of my links, so I’d really appreciate
if you’d use them if you’re in the market
for any of these movies.
Iím gonna give 13 Going on 30 5 out of 5
paws.
Iím sure that ratingís not a surprise to
anybody at this point in the video, but I
absolutely love this movie.
Itís just got so many things that work for
me.
Itís one of my favorite romantic comedies,
one of my favorite coming-of-age stories,
and just one of my favorite movies.
I would recommend 13 Going on 30 to anybody
who likes romantic comedies, even just a little
bit.
It has some of the things you expect from
the genre, but has much less cheesiness and
much more earnestness to its story.
Plus, itís incredibly funny and has a fun
premise, so I really think that even people
who think they donít like romantic comedies
will end up finding this one pretty enjoyable.
If you liked 13 Going on 30, the first and
most obvious recommendation Iíve gotta make
is Tom Hanksí Big.
The basic premise is essentially the same
here ñ youíve got a comedy about a kid whose
wish to be older magically comes true and
then theyíve gotta deal with life as an adult
in order to realize that being a kid really
isnít all that bad.
If you liked the scenes involving 13 year
old Jenna, youíve definitely gotta check
out Mean Girls.
It was released literally one week after 13
Going on 30 was and almost seems like it could
be viewed as that interim high school period
that Jenna Rink skips with her wish.
I mean, the Plastics are basically the Six
Chicks.
And if you want another deceptively good ìchick
flickî comedy about a fashion magazine, be
sure to watch The Devil Wears Prada.
Itís another surprisingly funny and genuine
movie that you could easily and mistakenly
dismiss just cause of its genre and your perception
of what you think it is.
Alright, a couple questions for you guys.
Number one: Have you seen 13 Going on 30?
If so, whatíd you think of it?
And number two: Whatís your favorite coming-of-age
movie?
Be sure to leave your answers in
the comments below so we can get a discussion
going.
Alright, so if you got some enjoyment, insight,
or information out of this review, Iíd appreciate
it if youíd hit that like button.
And, if you havenít done so already, please
hit subscribe while youíre at it, to see
more videos like this.
Till next time, this has been Alyssa with
Mainely Movies: The way life should be.

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