Great Lohan films
She was one of the brightest stars of the early noughties, who had all but disappeared by the end of the decade, the teen queen who went off the rails and became more famous for her off-screen antics, than her on-screen performances. But now, after a long absence, Lindsay Lohan is back in the spotlight with a charming new Netflix festive movie, Falling For Christmas. To celebrate, Stuff to Watch has trawled through her back catalogue and come up with a list of our five favourite performances from the now 36-year-old (and where you can watch them).
Mean Girls (2004, Prime Video)
Although based in part on Rosalind
Wiseman’s 2002 nonfiction self-help book Queen Bees and Wannabes, writer Tina Fey also drew on her own high school experiences to create this cult noughties comedy about a naive teenage girl (Lohan) who navigates her way through the sometimes confusing social hierarchy of secondary education, after having spent years being homeschooled. It also includes Rachel Mcadams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried and Amy Poehler.
The Parent Trap (1998, Disney+)
In Disney’s remake of the 1961 comedy Lohan plays separated twins Annie and Hallie, who discover each other at summer camp and make a plan to bring their wayward parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha
Richardson) back together. Director Nancy Meyers allegedly handpicked Lohan for the role.
Freaky Friday (2003, Disney+)
This fourth adaptation of Mary Rodgers’ novel about a mother and her teenage daughter who swap bodies succeeds thanks largely to terrific performances from Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. The former shifts seamlessly and magnificently between feckless teen and stressedout mum, without a trace of the typical Hollywood mugging of actors her age.
Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005, Disney+)
Lohan starred opposite Michael Keaton, Matt Dillon and cinema’s most famous VW Beetle in this hilarious reboot of The Love Bug movies. She plays an aspiring TV producer whose life is turned upside down when her automotive graduation present turns out to be a little more interactive than she expected. Lohan’s charisma, charm and comedic abilities shine through.
Machete (2010, itunes)
Clearly designed as a throwback to the action films of the 1970s, this movie wears its sexism and ultra-violence on its sleeve. Danny Trejo may be the eponymous former Mexican Federale double-crossed and out for revenge, but Lohan steals the show as April,
‘‘a socialite with a penchant for guns and wearing a nun’s habit’’.