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Fantasyland
Cute ‘n’ fluffy 13 Going on 30 defies logic
by Paige M. Travis
Like Big, Freaky Friday and plenty of movies before it, 13 Going on 30 is based on the hazards of a kid’s wish come true. A youngster hopes aloud with the fervent belief that her life would be better if only she were older. Then, magically, she gets what she asks for.
In Jenna Rink’s case, she wishes to be “30, flirty and thriving” like the flashy headline on her favorite magazine. Preparing to celebrate her 13th birthday with her best friend Matt and the guests of honor—the popular girls from school—Jenna bemoans her lack of boobs, her unpopularity and her unreciprocated crush on a popular boy with feathered blond hair. When the snooty clique of girls sets her up to kiss the hunk in a game of Seven Minutes of Heaven but send in Matt instead, she flips out, blames him for ruining the party—her chance at cracking the in-crowd—and makes her fateful wish to be a grown-up.
When Jenna wakes from her crying jag, she has skipped ahead to age 30. She’s stunned to find herself living in a New York City apartment, dating a pro hockey player who’s dumber than a puck, working as an editor of Poise magazine and—as she notices soon after gaping at her reflection— nicely endowed with perky B-cups.
All of her dreams have come true, but as most wish-makers find, the list of consequences is topped by confusion. She doesn’t know how to act 30, and no one believes her story about being 13. Wisely, she just runs with it, letting her ignorance of cell phones and a mix-up between Eminem and M&Ms appear to be the wacky results of a hangover. Using her 13-year-old ingenuity, she tracks down Matt (Mark Ruffalo), who says their friendship fell apart after that party. Slowly, through him and her coworkers, Jenna realizes that in the 17 years she can’t remember, she’s become a snooty, back-stabbing, mean-spirited bitch. The cruel revelation kills the buzz she’d been riding from her great body and closet full of fab clothes.
Although the wish-logic of the film renders it flaky at times, the overall outcome is enjoyable and wholesome, much like the live-action Disney movies of yesteryear. Garner radiates joy as she channels an exuberant, free-spirited 13-year-old through her woman’s body. She’s completely believable and particularly charming in scenes where she befriends her young neighbor and holds a slumber party where Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” inspires a deep conversation and a fit of dancing. As the soon-to-be-married Matt, Ruffalo grounds the flighty logic of the whole scenario. His indie-darling presence in this mainstream romantic comedy adds to the film’s value rather than make him seem out of place.
Much of the humor of 13 Going on 30 hangs on the fact that Jenna’s point of reference is 1987. The soundtrack rings with the Go-Go’s, Whitney Houston, Rick Springfield and Michael Jackson, and scenes with young Jenna are festooned with ‘80s fashion. But the filmmakers miss the opportunity for laughs when adult Jenna doesn’t lapse into an ‘80s sensibility and either create a fashion gaffe or spark a craze. Viewers who lived through the ‘80s might find themselves wishing Jenna would reach for the Electric Blue mascara, or wear the most retro fashions from her closet.
Jenna’s wish fulfillment is a mixed blessing. She wakes up innocent, free from body issues and questions of how to meet the variety of expectations regarding education, career, family and relationships. But she doesn’t have the wisdom of her age, the knowledge that 17 years—more than half her life—contribute to a woman and help her make the kinds of decisions that Jenna must make. Ultimately, Jenna’s decisions aren’t based on a newfound appreciation of that lost maturity. Instead, her youthful passion for true love informs her final choices. But this is a romantic comedy after all, where there’s little room for the most advanced thinking.
Like the recent (and better) film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 13 Going on 30 seems to suggest that if you couldn’t remember the bad parts of your life, you could be a better person. Thanks to the space-time continuum, none of us are granted the wish to fast-forward, rewind or edit our lives. It’s a nice fantasy perhaps, but a tad fluffy with no solid moral ground in 13 Going on 30.
April 28, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 18
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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