The Parent Trap
- Two For One
- Jun 6
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
In this episode...
The Parent Trap (1961) US film directed by David Swift, starring Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, and Brian Keith
The Parent Trap (1998) US film directed by Nancy Meyers, starring Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson Let's get together... and review these family comedy films that both rely on a unique casting conceit: the child star leads are playing two characters. In their respective movies, Hayley Mills and Lindsay Lohan both play twin sisters, separated as babies, who meet at summer camp. Their initially adversarial relationship develops into something deeper than friendship. When they realize they are related, they want nothing more than to reconnect their long-divided family. David & Claire assess the differences in presentation and exactly which genre both films seem to land in. What relationships create the heart of each film--the girls' relationship to each other, or the parents? Do their prankster ways cross the line, or were they necessary to oust their father's gold-digging fiancée? In addition to these questions, we'll also remark on the 1998 version's choice to shout out a legacy casting choice in the credits, and look back at a few movies we've covered that have brought back old favorites in the reboots.
Source Material:
Erich Kästner's Das doppelte Lottchen, about identical twin girls who are separated at birth and rediscover each other at a summer camp..
Which is better?
For those who want to skip to finding out which movie David & Claire say is better, podcast spoilers ahead!
Find out what the best movie is...
Claire: The Parent Trap (1998)
David: The Parent Trap (1961)
Interested in which movies tend to be the favorites? Some say the original is always better, but Hollywood always loves a remake. At Two for One, we evaluate each movie on its own terms, but we also keep track of data on what we've liked best.
Listeners Choice
Which Parent Trap do you like better?
0%1961
0%1998
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