Wish Upon a Star (1996)

Let's go for something a little different tonight, and watch the 1996 Disney Channel Original movie starring Katherine Heigel (who I feel needs no introduction), and Danielle Harris (Who was most notably Eliza from the Wild Thornberries). The two play sisters, who get an an argument, "wish upon a star" and switch bodies.

Look, even in 1996, this is idea was done to death..a few I found from 1996 were:

 "18 Again" (1988)
"Alison Birthday" (1981)
All of Me (1984)
"Farligt venskab" (which translates to Body Switch) (1995)
"Dream a Little Dream" (1989)
"Freaky Friday" (1976)
"Freaky Friday" (The 1995 tv movie)
"Like Father Like Son" (1987)
"Prelude to a Kiss" (1992)
"The Immortalizer" (1989)
"Vice Versa" (1988)

And that's just what I found with the first search I did, I'm sure I could find more, but you get the point. It's none a new concept, it's an overdone concept. The concept can be done well....yes. But it rarely is. (Shaggy Dog, anyone?)

I couldn't find much information about Wish Upon a Star, which makes me question if the movie is any good, but even a movie with a lot of information about it can suck...

So, without further ado....1996's Wish Upon a Star

We open with Bubblegum pop music, because that's what teens love.

Alex, Katherine Heigel is your average "pretty girl" who spends all of the morning in the bathroom, and oogling over her boyfriend's picture...and Danielle Harris, Hayley, is the younger sister, who is the shadow of her older sister....hm, what could go wrong here?

(Also, for whatever its worth...and probably nothing unless you're on Jepordary, Dannielle Harris, who plays the younger sister is actually a year and a half older than Katherine Hiegel)

The parents (Scott Wilkinson and Mary Parker Williams) decide the best way to stop the girls from fighting, and to get Alex to dress more modestly is to stop having so many rules. I reiterate, what could possibly go wrong?

At about 13 minutes, Hayley makes the wish while looking through a telescope, because if she can't be pretty like Alex, she's going to be into science.

We're now about 30 minutes into the film. I wouldn't consider it a bad film, I've seen worse. I wouldn't consider it a good film, I've seen better. It's a boring film. A very boring film. Now, part of that could be what I've already mentioned, the body switching thing is overdone, even in 1996, but even an overdone concept can be pretty decent if the writing is good....and it's not particularly bad here, but it's nothing special. It's
forgettable.

Nothing of importance in the movie has happened since Hayley made the wish back at 13 minutes in.

Another thing about this movie, I have two younger brothers...I get the "Sibling Rivalry"dynamic of the household, but even when me and my brothers would fight (and still do) at the end of the day we're still friends, this movie doesn't have any of that, and if it does, it's trying to pull a fast one on our parents that are dumber than Chief Wiggum, it doesn't paint an accurate picture of the typical family. Okay, what do I expect from a movie about sisters swamping bodies? Well, it can still be done with a theme like this.

I was trying to pinpoint what was wrong with this movie, it fails on all the levels that original Freaky Friday succeeded on. I think I have a theory, in FF, you knew Mom was actually the Daughter and vice versa, and while I don't really like the Jamie Lee Curtis/Lindsay Lohan version, you could tell there. This movie, yeah...you know they're supposed to be in each others bodies, but you can't really tell a difference between the sisters, because they act the same way they did prior to the wish. I think this is most obvious when they try to decide who's room to sleep in that night. I'm sure there's other problems with this film, aside from what I've mentioned....we still have 51 minutes left. But, I think that's what makes this movie so boring, and helped FF succeed. :)

Actually, I think this movie could work...if you got a pair of twins, and did the "I hate my life, let's be each other for the day" which every show with twins, has done....and is still an overdone concept. But it could work that way...maybe not well, but that's the only way I really see this movie working.

So, we now begin day 2...AKA "Let's ruin each others reputation" day.

However, about 15 minutes of run time, they discover that Alex is a virgin, and have an awkward bonding moment, and realize that they'll help each other. Specifically, getting Hayley back into the science fair which was taken away from her for....well...plot convenience, I guess.

The girls camp out in the backyard to wait for a shooting star, but decide to go as each other for one more day, so that Alex's teachers can be convinced that she's not an air head, and that Hayley can get a boyfriend. I guess the writers just needed to fill an extra 30 minutes of the movie that weren't about if Alex was a virgin or not.


At the end of that night, Alex...er...Hayley makes the wish, but nothing happens. So, Hayley..er Alex, must present the real Hayley's science project, and Alex...er...Hayley, must be Alex in some prom queen thing....

Turns out, it didn't work because when the real Hayley made the wish in the beginning of the movie, so did the real Alex, so they both have to wish for it in order for it to be reversed. Okay...I guess. Spoiler alert, it works. Also, shooting stars seem to happen an awful in "insert city here" And, spoiler alert...Alex wins the prom queen thing, because nobody saw that one coming.

The movie ends with Alex giving Hayley the tiara for winning the prom queen thing.

Okay, the movie is boring and incredibly predictable, unless you just seriously love "body swap" movies, don't bother.