Ooh! A live-action Disney children's movie! I'm not used to rambling on about these, so, please, be gentle with me.
This is a variation of the venerable story of twins, separated at birth, switching places. The trick here is that they conspire to bring their long-divorced parents back together again, despite being separated by 6000 miles.
Playing the parents are Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid. Richardson was apparently chosen because she's British, is at the right age, and has the glamor you'd imagine your long-lost mom would have (yes, wishes are fulfilled in this movie, but it's Disney). She plays this perfectly well. I'm not sure about Dennis Quaid. The twins are played by Lindsay Lohan, who, backed by her acting double and special effects, is shockingly convincing at being in two places at once. If you didn't pay attention (like foolish old me), you'd believe there were twins there.
The first part of the movie, with the twins meeting cute at summer camp, was on the painful side. All the cliches of precious, mischievous kids are pulled from the usual bag of tricks. Yes, even the "Bad to the Bone" song playing when one of the twins struts up to a camp poker game in dark sunglasses. Maybe I'm just grump, but I hoped that one twin would be made of antimater and would annhilate the other one on contact, ending the film, or that one would turn out to be the evil twin, Garth, but, alas, it was not to be.
The movie actually picks up once the whole camp thing ends. They switch places, so each can see their mum or dad, as appropriate. Minor fun with culture shock, touristy drives through London and Napa Valley (yes, Mom's a designer of wedding gowns, Dad owns a winery, like most people on the planet). The scheme of getting mom and dad to meet has to be hurried, because Dad has met a thin, young blonde (TYB), and, after an 8 week whirlwind courtship (apparently occurring entirely while the girls are at camp), they're going to get married. The TYB, of course, is evil.
The twins' cover is blown by the clever grandfather in London, and the observant housekeeper in Napa. Plus a dog: animals are smart. Stuff happens, everyone meets at a nice hotel in San Francisco, people have shocked-happy looks (mom and dad) or shocked-shocked looks (evil TYB), and, after some hijinks you know the rest. It's not "The Usual Suspects".
I saw this with zero expectations, and, despite having every fear confirmed in the first part, was pleasantly surprised by the end of the movie. Yes, "The Parent Trap" is too long by about 20 minutes (and I don't just mean the camp scenes), but it's not bad at all.
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