movie review monday: 13 going on 30

13 Going On 30

Thirteen-year-old Jenna (Shana Dowdeswell) has had enough with the trials of adolescence. In addition to being saddled with a devoted-but-nerdy best friend, Matt (Sean Marquette), she falls victim to one of the dangers of playing Seven Minutes in Heaven with the coolest kids in school: being stranded without a willing make-out partner. Humiliated, Jenna buries herself in the aformentioned make-out closet, wishing she could skip the whole adolescence bit and move straight into adulthood, and miraculously wakes just weeks away from her 30th birthday. Of course, a lot has changed since going to bed the night before, not the least of which being an impressive set of womanly curves. The new, older Jenna (Jennifer Garner) is a successful magazine editor with friends in high places and a lion's share of potential suitors -- including a hockey-playing boyfriend and a swarthy married man. The problem is that her mind hasn't matured with her body; Jenna not only finds living on her own more terrifying than cool, but is quick to dismiss any male over the age of 14 as "gross." Half excited, half mortified, Jenna seeks out Matt (Mark Ruffalo), whom she learns she had spurned as a teenager in an effort to join the popular crowd. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Running Time: 1 hour 37 minutes


I first saw this movie awhile back mostly because Jennifer Garner is in it and I heart Alias. I think I had a coupon or some other way of viewing it for free because the whole reason I skipped seeing it in the theater was I figured it would just be the female version of Big. I was surprised and pleased to discover it really wasn't, at least not entirely. Also, this kind of clinched the fact that Jennifer Garner is a good actress. She'll forever be one of the most kickass women on tv from her role as Sydney, but she did a very good job being a thirteen year old in a thirty year old's body.

Jenna isn't the woman she thought she would be as a girl and it brings to light a lot of interesting things for her. She is still in touch with some of the people she grew up with, but she and her very best friend have grown apart. There's a bunch of little things that happens and she only kind of understands since her mind is still 13, but she does fairly well with fitting into her new world. My favorite part about this whole movie is how it ended though. For a few minutes, I thought I was going to be really disappointed, but they came through for me.

So anyway, it's a cute maybe chick flick that is funny and heartwarming and basically a mindless delight. Perfect for watching when you've had a bad day.

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars.