We discuss 10 movies like The Parent Trap you must watch. Add these well-recommended and highly-rated films to your watch list.
In 1998, a young Lindsay Lohan stepped on the scene and took on a dual role in The Parent Trap. Director Nancy Meyers created a beautiful film about identical twins Annie and Halle who were separated at birth. Each was raised by one of their biological parents and they discover each other for the first time at summer camp, making a plan to bring their wayward parents back together.
This family film is filled with heartfelt moments and some hardcore pranks that Annie and Halle are part of. Lohan maintained a near-perfect British accent to differentiate between the twins and became one of the young stars to look out for.
The films on this list have some more Lohan favorites and some other actors in dual roles that will leave you impressed. Sometimes everyone needs a fun family film with some lessons to comfort them and the films listed below are the ones you should add to your watchlist.
10 movies like The Parent Trap
Yours, Mine & Ours (2005)
Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo star in this remake about a widowed Coast Guard Admiral and a widowed handbag designer who fall in love and marry, much to the dismay of his 8 and her 10 children. The original film came out in 1968 and starred two Hollywood icons, Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda.
Cheaper By The Dozen (2003)
Director Shawn Levy gave us a big family comedy starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt. At the time, teen stars like Tom Welling and Hilary Duff were huge draws at the theatre because of the success of Smallville and Lizzie McGuire. The film is about a family who is uprooted because their mother is doing a book tour, and a father of twelve must handle a new job and his new role in the household.
Freaky Friday (2003)
There was a period when you couldn’t touch Lindsay Lohan because of the career she built for herself and her teenage years were nothing short of iconic. In this body-switch Disney film, an overworked mother (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her daughter do not get along. When they switch bodies, each is forced to adapt to the other’s life for one freaky Friday.
It Takes Two (1995)
The Parent Trap wasn’t the first film to tackle twins being separated at birth. The Olsen twins had a whole slew of movies come out with quirky little concepts, and this was one of them. Alyssa and Amanda are two identical little girls, but strangers that accidentally meet one day.
17 Again (2009)
Teen heartthrob Zac Efron was on the rise at Disney after starring in High School Musical. In 17 Again, Efron showed his acting talents and made one of the most emotional films of that year.
Mike O’Donnell (Matthew Perry/Zac Efron) is ungrateful for how his life turned out. He gets a chance to rewrite his life when he tried to save a janitor near a bridge and jumped after him into a time vortex. Young O’Donnell sees how glorified his life was back in the day to only lose the one thing he loves most in the world in his future. To this day, it’s still one of Efron’s best performances.
She’s the Man (2006)
If you were a fan of Amanda Bynes, then She’s the Man was your most quoted film in 2006. When Viola’s (Bynes) brother Sebastian (James Kirk) decides to ditch for a couple of weeks, Viola heads over to his elite boarding school, disguised as him, and proceeds to fall for his school’s star soccer player, and soon learns she’s not the only one with romantic troubles. This dual role for Bynes showed how incredibly talented she is and also introduced everyone to Channing Tatum’s comedic talents. If the story and the names sound a bit too familiar it is because this film is adapted from William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night.
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
When looking at family films that really bring the whole family together because of the love they share, then Mrs. Doubtfire is one of the most heartfelt. Robin Williams plays Daniel, a father who only wants to see his children and be around them more after a bitter divorce. So he devises a plan to disguise himself as a female housekeeper to spend more time with his children because his wife restricts the amount of time they spend with him.
The Princess Switch (2018)
Vanessa Hudgens takes on this dual role for the Netflix Christmas film The Princess Switch, which surprised many viewers with how charming it was. When competing in a Christmas baking competition in Belgravia, a Chicago baker bumps into the prince’s fiancée –who looks just like her, and they switch lives for a day. The switch shows that life can be difficult for everyone on a different scale and they each gain a new appreciation for each other’s lifestyle.
Matilda (1996)
Director Danny DeVito created one of the most memorable and charming children’s films with Roald Dahl writing the script alongside Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord. A girl named Matilda (Mara Wilson) is gifted with a keen intellect and psychic powers and uses both to deal with their crude, distant family and free her kind teacher from their sadistic headmistress. Every child in the 90s wanted to be like Matilda and it showed that you have the power within to handle difficult situations if you just believe in yourself to do the right thing.
Life-Size (2000)
In this Lindsay Lohan film, she plays a widower’s daughter who uses magic in an attempt to resurrect her dead mother but inadvertently brings a doll to life, changing the young girl’s world forever. Tyra Banks, who was an A-list supermodel at the time, starred as the doll and it has been one of the more underrated films in Lohan’s filmography.
Do you have any other recommendations for films like The Parent Trap? Let us know!
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