“13 Going On 30” (Revolution Pictures)
Jennifer Garner has the starring role in the new film “13 Going On 30” and she makes the most of it. She is pretty, witty and full of life. She makes the film more than it should be, and that should guarantee her big screen stardom. If her role as a teen trapped in the body of an adult doesn’t give her the critical acclaim that Tom Hanks got with “Big” it is because that movie and that performance were there first.
In the film Jenna Rink (Christa B Allen) is a thirteen-year-old girl who wants to fit in with the “in” crowd. She doesn’t. What she wishes for with all her heart is that she would miraculously be thirty, with all the charm that age would bring. Through some magic wishing powder that her best friend Mattie (Jack Salvatore, Jr.) gives her, this happens.
She wakes up as a grown up Jenna Rink (Garner) who is the Editor of a glossy magazine called “Poise.” Her best friend is her teen-age nemesis Lucy (Judy Greer) and she also has a boyfriend she thinks is Yukky! It is a strange new world but at least Jenna is able to contact her old friend Matt (Mark Ruffalo) who is still as nice and sweet as ever.
Garner is very good at conveying the emotional maturity of a thirteen year old, and all the enthusiasm that goes along with being that age. Still she can’t explain why a thirteen-year-old would want to be thirty, and how when she miraculously becomes that age she can walk in high heels and fool all those around her.
The movie ultimately suffers due to the comparisons with Tom Hanks’ film “Big.” In that movie the “dancing on the keyboard” number established the tone of the film. In this one it is when Jenna and Mattie dance to “Thriller.” The charm is not the same.
Ruffalo is one of the best things about the film. He makes Mattie loveable from the start, and makes his devotion to Jenna emotionally satisfying. This combination gives “13 Going On 30” the extra spark it has.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.
Jennifer Garner may not be the next Julia Roberts yet, but she is in her same league. This movie will undoubtedly earn her many more fans and pave the way for big screen stardom.
I scored “13 Going On 30” a tween teen 6 out of 10.
