What if your biggest assumption about your mother was wrong? That’s the premise driving Harper’s story in Freakier Friday. She believes Anna’s life is one long sacrifice, a trade-off between fame and family. She fears she is the reason her mother gave up her dream. But the body swap shows her something else entirely: Anna didn’t lose; she chose. She loves her career. She thrives in it. And she loves being a mom. That realization shifts everything.
This is what makes the sequel resonate. At its core, it’s a story about empathy, perspective, and the danger of assuming you know what another person wants or needs.
Why the Sequel Matters
The 2003 version with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan was a mother-daughter comedy about clashing personalities. This latest chapter expands the chaos. The body swap isn’t just between Tess and Anna. It now involves Harper and Lily, Tess’s soon-to-be step-granddaughter. That decision opens the door to something broader. It’s not just about a mother and daughter learning to understand each other; it’s about what happens when multiple generations are forced to see life from another point of view.
Some critics have praised it as heartfelt and funny in outlets like Entertainment Weekly. Others, like Time, argue that it leans too heavily on nostalgia. Both are right in their way. The story doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does offer something families will recognize: how often we misjudge the people closest to us.
The Essential Lesson
At the center is empathy. To love someone deeply, you need to stop making assumptions and start seeing their reality. That’s true in families. It’s also true in leadership.
“When you have empathy for another person or you understand their daily struggles, it can change communication,” explained Dr. Greg Gomez, LMFT, DSW, the Clinical Director of The Oasis Rehab. “You can connect better with them. You understand what they are going through. You understand the pressure they are facing. You understand the fatigue. This strengthens relationships.”
That insight applies as much to a teenager and her mom as it does to a leader and their team.
What Mothers Model Without Realizing It
The film makes a strong case that leadership starts at home. Harper doesn’t realize until later that her mom’s problem-solving, resilience, and adaptability are leadership skills. They weren’t presented as lessons. They were absorbed through observation.
“Mothers often solve daily problems creatively,” added Gomez. “This teaches their children how to solve problems as well. They also model resilience. Daughters often watch their mothers’ faces and overcome difficult challenges.”
That modeling often happens quietly, through setbacks, late nights, or difficult decisions. Harper thinks her mother has given something up. In reality, she’s been teaching her daughter how to lead.
Seeing Beyond Assumptions
Jenny Beckford, a Family Wellbeing Consultant and Parent & Teen Coach, told me, “When we truly take time out to understand someone’s daily challenges, whether it’s a teen navigating identity or a parent juggling emotional stress and financial stress, we shift from reacting to responding. In both family and leadership roles, having empathy becomes a bridge as it softens communication, fosters trust, and allows us to lead with compassion rather than control.”
That could describe Anna and Harper’s transformation. At first, they are reacting to each other with frustration. By the end, they are responding with compassion.
The Weight of Perfectionism As A Mother
The film also brushes against another truth: the pressure daughters often absorb from their mothers. Clinical psychologist Dr. Andrea Mata noted that mothers frequently model perfectionism, even if unintentionally. “Society expects women to be perfect, and it is causing anxiety, depression, and burnout. Mothers are expected to work a 9-5, chaperone field trips, organize Pinterest-worthy parties, cook four-course meals, have immaculate houses, flawless makeup and hair, and be dressed to the nines. It has only gotten worse with social media.”
That burden feeds the misunderstandings between Anna and Harper. Harper sees her mom’s juggling act as a failure. In reality, it’s survival, and often a quiet kind of success.
Leadership And Being a Mother in Action
Gabriella Pomare, author of The Collaborative Co-Parent, framed it this way: “When you step into their shoes, conversations stop feeling like battles to win and start feeling like puzzles to solve together. As co-parents, we often think the other person just doesn’t get it, but when you imagine their 6:30 am chaos of packing lunches, finding lost socks, and calming a teary child before an early meeting, you stop judging and start problem-solving. The same thing happens in leadership: when you understand someone’s reality, you can tailor your communication to their needs instead of your assumptions. It builds trust and makes space for cooperation.”
It’s an observation that echoes throughout Freakier Friday. Once Anna and Harper trade roles, neither is focused on “winning” their disagreements. Instead, they are solving problems together.
What Daughters Really Learn About Being A Mother
The truth is, daughters are always watching. They observe how their mothers cope with stress. They watch how they speak up, how they soften, how they keep going.
As therapist Kiana Shelton of Mindpath Health shared, “Mothers often model resilience for their daughters without even realizing it. Mothers often navigate a lot of emotional labor and have been modeling resilience for generations. To me, as a clinician and a mother, this is leadership in its rawest form. It’s raw creativity to thrive in spaces often not designed for you to thrive in.”
That resilience doesn’t always look glamorous. But it leaves an impression.
What Freakier Friday Leaves Us With
So what can this film teach us? That empathy is leadership. That resilience is modeled in everyday moments. Making assumptions about the people closest to us often leads to unnecessary pain.
For mothers and daughters, the message is simple: perspective changes everything. You don’t need a body swap to see it. You just need to listen differently and lead with empathy.
Freakier Friday might be wrapped in comedy and chaos. Still, its message is one worth remembering: leadership begins with empathy, whether you’re a mother, raising a daughter, running a household, or leading a team.