IN AN INDUSTRY that recycles so many stories, I suppose it's commendable when someone at least goes to the trouble of putting a new spin on an old tale. And so we have 13 Going On 30, the female version of Big.
As in Big, the story involves a kid who, after a humiliating experience, desperately wishes to be an adult. Supernatural powers (in this case, the clumsy plot device of a dollhouse with sparkly magic dust) grant the wish, and our naïve heroine faces the world of grown-ups. In Big, the boy woke up the next morning a man. In 13, Jenna (Jennifer Garner) wakes up to find that 17 years have passed, and her 13-year-old mind has leapt forward in time to occupy the body of her future self. Sort of a Peggy Sue Got Married effect in reverse.
The series of events leading up to and including Jenna's initial adjustment to her temporal travels are awkward and occasionally hokey. At times, Garner also exudes mental retardation more than childlike innocence. But once she begins to settle in and have fun as a kid in a grown-up world, the film becomes more endearing. And, since Jenna's mind has traveled from 1987, we have two fish-out-of-water stories: the child amongst adults, and the '80s time traveler in the present, as Jenna proceeds to make profound statements taken from Pat Benatar songs.
In the end, it all becomes about love. There are definite moments when the story's taken one too many happy pills, but Mark Ruffalo is infinitely likable as the love interest, and you wind up rooting for their happiness. But the best parts are the subtle, clever moments that remind us of our youth, as when Jenna sits down to a board meeting with a legal pad and reflexively writes her name in the upper, right-hand corner, homework style.
Whether or not Jenna's actions are always true to her age is difficult to gauge. Having never been a 13-year-old girl myself, I tend to relate more to Big. But 13 Going On 30 made me laugh a few times and smile a whole lot. As lighthearted date movies go, it's utterly charming.