April 23, 2004 | Yes, the child-trapped-in-adult-body
gimmick is shamelessly recycled from Big and dozens of other movies.
And, yes again, the predictable plot is a standard-issue morality play
about the dangers of getting what you wish for. But trust me: It doesn't
really matter that 13 Going on 30 is a star vehicle composed
second-hand parts. What really counts is the megawattage of the star
in the driver's seat.
Much like her character is magically transformed
from dweebishly insecure adolescent to glamorously successful adult,
Jennifer Garner makes the tricky transition from cult-fave TV action
icon to full-fledged, ultra-charismatic leading lady in this sprightly
romantic comedy-fantasy. Hype-mongers and trend-watchers doubtless
will argue whether she's “the next Julia
Roberts” or “the new Sandra Bullock.” But most mainstream moviegoers
simply will accept her – no, make that embrace her – as delightfully
appealing on her own terms.
Credit co-screenwriters Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa (who also gave
us What Women Want ) for wasting little time while setting up
their fantastical premise. The early scenes, set in 1987, briskly establish
young Jenna Rink (Christa B. Allen) as a nerdy-cutie waif who dreams
of hanging with the hippest girls at her school. Matt (Sean Marquette),
her classmate and not-so-secret admirer, advises her to be “an original,” not
a conformist. “But I don't want to be an original,” Jenna pointedly replies. “I
want to be cool.”
Jenna gets her chance to chill after she's
sprinkled with “Wishing Dust” during
her disastrous 13 th birthday party. She wakes up to find herself 17
years older – and, more important, drop-dead gorgeous – with a hunky
celebrity athlete boyfriend, a lavish Manhattan apartment, and a fabulous
job as editor of Poise, a glossy women's magazine.
Trouble is, she's still little Jenna inside her head. She has no idea
how she got where she is, what she's done since she's been there, or
what she's supposed to do to survive and thrive.
From the very moment she literally rolls out of bed as the cluelessly
adult Jenna, Garner wins you over with equal measures of giggly-girlish
exuberance and anxious-adolescent befuddlement. It's not terribly surprising
to see that, after three seasons of acrobatic butt-kicking on TV's Alias and
her Elektra-fying super-heroics in last year's Daredevil , this
fetching actress is exceptionally adept at physical comedy. What is surprising,
and delightful, is the full-tilt energy and resourceful expressiveness
she brings to conveying the illusion of an ungainly adolescent trapped
inside a mature adult's body.
Garner throws herself so fully and effectively into her role that she
occasionally appears to be radiating emotions with every part of her
body. Indeed, in a few key scenes, she vividly conveys Jenna's high spirits
and giddy pleasure through the graceful curling and uncurling of her
toes.
In this kind of movie, of course, the protagonist
always comes to regret having a wish fulfilled. And, sure enough, Jenna
learns she has risen to the top by being ruthless and demanding – qualities,
it should be noted, that are greatly appreciated by her prissy editor-in-chief
(Andy Serkis, only slightly less animated here than in the Lord of the
Rings trilogy). Her closest associate, Lucy Wyman (Judy Greer),
just happens to be the conventionally grown-up version of her snootiest
hip-chick classmate. And while Matt (Mark Ruffalo, establishing romantic-comedy
leading-man cred) has grown up to be an amiable and attractive photographer,
he's decidedly aloof when Jenna tries to reconnect with him – largely
because, the last time they met as teens, she banished him from her life
for being terminally uncool.
Director Gary Winick ( Tadpole ) does
a nifty job of bringing a fresh spin to most of the script's clichés,
and emphasizing the nuggets of emotional truth provided by writers Goldsmith
and Yuspa. 13
Going on 30 only gradually reveals how much Jenna won and lost by
transforming herself into her ideal of adult success, suggesting the scenario could have
been played more seriously with thought-provoking results. (What if, instead
of pivoting on magic, the movie had dealt with a discontented woman who
psychologically blocks all memories since her innocent adolescence?) The
happily-ever-after wrap-up is dramatically satisfying and commercially
sound – yet also something of a let-down. But never mind: Garner is so
immensely likeable here that you can't help wanting everything to turn
out just peachy for her character.