There's no denying that
13 Going on 30 gets its inspiration from the far superior
Tom Hanks film;
Big. They both use the 'kid wants to be older, makes a wish, wakes up the next morning with wish granted' concept. With
Big, it was more drama with well placed humorous moments without it coming off as a "comedy". With
13 Going on 30 this is a straight up Romantic Comedy, which is something I usually don't watch. But
Jennifer Garner as
Jenna is so charismatic and fun that the movie becomes quite enjoyable. It's still grounded in that '
ABC Family Channel' feel to it, but that's not something that's gonna derail the movie here.
I think a lot of what makes everything from
Jenna's 'Thriller' dance scene onward good is the chemistry between
Garner and
Matt (Mark Ruffalo). They work really well together whenever they share the screen. Also,
Judy Greer goes a long way as well in making this movie better than it should be. I like these sort of fantasy/fish out of water scenarios where you get to see some sort of character arc. And in this case it's usually realizing that everything you think you need by being an adult is something you already have as a kid.
It's a fun movie, if a bit predictable. It's not perfect, but I think it's a good flick to kinda have on for the night and not take anything too seriously. Worth a
Rental. Also pretty cool is seeing a young
Christa B. Allen as young
Jenna. She can currently be seen on
Revenge.