13 Going on 30
Love is a battlefield

// The skinny: On Jenna's 13th birthday she wishes that she was already 30 and wakes up the next day and finds that her dream has come true.

// Review: I must first preface this review by saying the only reason I watched this movie was because I was bored in a hotel room in Shang Hai and my mom refused to watch The Village. Even if this were an in flight movie I'd watch it only after memorizing the duty free catalog.

/ My friend Melody would consider herself a movie buff and yet this cracks her top 3 all time. At first I thought this film would target only pre-teen girls with Hilary Duff posters on their walls, but then it struck me that ALL girls would love this. 30 year old Jenna is the fantasy they all dream about: Jennifer Garner's body, notoriety, money, position, power, independence, and still get the fairy tale romance. It's kind of like Tom Hanks's Big, except instead of just having an adult body Jenna is warped 17 years into her own future. She seemingly has the perfect life except that she finds out that she isn't a very nice person.

/ As much as I detest girl movies it did have redeeming qualties. The delicious Jennifer Garner flutters between wide eyed teen to those poignant Alias moments. You know, when she starts walking in slow motion while a Sarah McLachlin songs croons in the background. Judy Greer is her best pal/arch rival who typically plays nerdy awkward characters (Arrested Development, What Women Want, The Village), but she is actually quite hot (Adaptation). This movie had a couple genuinely funny scenes like Jennifer Garner leading a Thriller line dance or her trophy Hockey player boyfriend doing a strip tease to Ice Ice Baby. But like with all chick movies the improbable situations to set up the romance is more science fiction than Star Trek.

// Wrap up: If you are the type of girl that unabashedly listens to Kelly Clarkson, watch it with friends and you'll love it. If you are the type of girl that listens to Portishead, watch it alone and you'll love it.

Entertainment rating: 2.5 (for guys) // 5 (for girls)