The Parent Trap represents something of a dilemma for the average reviewer;
it’s not a film so much as it is a modern myth of sorts. Call it the manifestation of
a modern wish fulfillment for children of divorced parents. After all, in an era in which,
we are told, divorce rates have, until recently, been skyrocketing, wouldn’t it be
comforting to believe in the concept of Mom and Dad, as a single, forever inseparable,
unit are just a reconciliation scheme or two away from realization? For Baby-Boomer
parents like director Meyers and her husband, Shyer, the idea of remaking one of their
cultural icons must have been an irresistible idea – a way of sharing their past with
their children. Moreover, the entire concept seems to get more endearing with every remake
(the 1961 original starred Maureen O’Hara and the late Brian Keith as the parents,
with Hayley Mills playing the twins, and there was also a 1988 made-for-cable version);
it’s cuddly to the point of pathology.
That having
been said, this new version is not without a few flaws. For starters, it’s a little
too impatient to cut to the chase; consequently, it treats much of the expository
material, where the two sisters meet, as something that has to be gotten past as quickly
as possible, and the charm of the two sisters rediscovering each other for the first time
threatens to implode under the force of speed. It might also be nice if director Meyers
could tame her aggravating tendency toward using too many dolly shots and
superimpositions, especially during crowd scenes; at times,Parent Trap looked more
like a product of Leni Riefenstahl’s second unit. On the other hand, since Parent
Trap is a form of triumph of the will (best referred to as Kinder Über Alles ), maybe the unintentional analogy contained
in the film’s visuals is appropriate, after all.