Movie Review for 13 Going On 30

Summary: It is 1987 and Jenna is a 13-year-old girl on the brink of womanhood. The problem is that adulthood is just not arriving fast enough. She's suffocated by her dorky parents, ignored by the hip kids in school--and the cute guy she has a crush on barely knows her name. No longer content to spend time only with her best friend and neighbor, Matt Flamhaff, Jenna invites the cool kids to her 13th birthday party. But the party is a disaster. Jenna is humiliated when she's locked in the closet for a game of "Seven Minutes in Heaven" and everyone deserts her.Alone in the closet, Jenna makes an earnest wish. If only she could be all grown up, she'd have the life she's always wanted. Miraculously, her wish comes true. The next day, when Jenna emerges from the closet, it's 2004 and she's 30 years old. What's more, she is a gorgeous successful woman with a great job and a fabulous Fifth Avenue apartment. She is finally cool and popular. The only hitch? She has absolutely no idea how she got there. Initially frightened but gradually enchanted by her new life, Jenna soon realizes there's something missing--Matt. When she looks him up, she is horrified to discover that she and Matt are no longer in contact and, furthermore, he is engaged to be married. Jenna learns that 'having it all' is not enough and decides to take a second chance at first love. Now her biggest wish is that it's not too late.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (7/0)
            Merely adequate...[the film] has a plot so old it probably came over on the Mayflower.

By Brian Webster of Apollo Guide (7/0)
            So engaging and ultimately so sweet that it’s difficult not to get swept up in the fun and sentim...

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (7/0)
            Lacks even one scene people will be talking about when today's 13-year-olds are 30.

By Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (6/1)
            A gender-bended Big with a Sex and the City gloss.

By Lori Hoffman of Atlantic City Weekly (7/0)
            Garner’s sparkle elevates 13 Going on Thirty to the level of passable entertainment

By Wesley Morris of Boston Globe (7/0)
            Jenna just seems to be on a dreamy market-driven reconnaissance mission, not a self-reflective jo...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (7/0)
            The writing team of Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith don't work hard enough to be consistent.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            You buy the magic because it comes with the territory. What I couldn't buy was the world of the m...

By Mark Caro of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            ...a movie should be more than just a collection of cute scenes strung together with crepe paper.

By David Sterritt of Christian Science Monitor (7/0)
            Garner gives her all, which isn't enough to salvage the movie's early scenes, full of too-familia...

By Margaret A. McGurk of Cincinnati Enquirer (7/0)
            It scrounges up laughs from unlikely sources, and wraps them in a mood so cheerful and good-heart...

By Jules Brenner of Cinema Signals (7/0)
            The picture is a metaphor for a runway (to display Garner's model proportions).

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Luis Martinez of Cinenganos (7/0)
            No es extraño que las niñas suelan colocarse rellenos para simular una mejor figura... o parecers...

By Karina Montgomery of Cinerina (7/0)
            Winning narrative challenges of having other characters reveal her to herself, & building our emp...

By Mark Palermo of Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (7/0)
            [It's] observant of the distance between children and adults, and has radiant work from Garner an...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
            [Garner is] buoyant and clearly having a great time. Too bad the filmmakers didn't put any more t...

By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (7/0)
            Though Jennifer Garner has a huge fan club, she's not a particularly appealing actress in a movie...

By Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing (7/0)
            The versatile star of Alias is irresistible here.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Philip Wuntch of Dallas Morning News (7/0)
            Ms. Garner's performance is what sticks with you. She's hilarious, warm and cool.

By Boo Allen of Denton Record Chronicle (TX) (7/0)
            You are asked, no, required, to overlook the film's lack of originality and concentrate instead o...

By Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News (7/0)
            No question: 13 Going on 30 could have aimed higher, but it hits the target at which it carefully...

By Sean O'Connell of E! Online (7/0)
            Effortless and adorable, 30 is a lovable New York romance with the right amount of whimsy and...

By Erik Childress of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            God knows, a thirteen-year-old would have more sense. But that age is too sophisticated for dreck...

By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (7/0)
            It's a pleasant surprise that the movie holds up as well as it does for as long as it does.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (7/0)
            Another flick that makes you want to read the first draft of the screenplay to see exactly how mu...

By Shirley Sealy of Film Journal International (7/0)
            13 Going on 30 does work, thanks to its sprightly script and brisk direction and some priceless f...

By Sean O'Connell of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            Garner manages a natural sweetness that sells Jenna’s inherent adolescence, and her wide-mouthed ...

By Larry Carroll of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            Rick Springfield was a punch line by ’83; Michael Jackson was in his “Bad” phase in 1987. No wond...

By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (8/0)
            You won’t stop expecting Tom Hanks to jump in and dance out ‘Chopsticks’ on the big flat piano on...

By Ross Anthony of Hollywood Report Card (7/0)
            If you could roll up all the things that concern a 13-year-old (from the 1980's) and put them int...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Kirk Honeycutt of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            A surprisingly good comic take on an almost done-to-death fantasy gimmick.

By Bruce Westbrook of Houston Chronicle (7/0)
            A spirited comedy of complications whose derivative plot is bolstered by worthy messages, quaint ...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            Should be a monster hit with tween girls but should have wide appeal as did Freaky Friday, anothe...

By Jackie K. Cooper of jackiekcooper.com (7/0)
            Garner is great but the movie is a "Big-let," a smaller version of "Big"

By JoBlo of JoBlo's Movie Emporium (7/0)
            Didn't really suck and sold me on its lead relationship between Garner and the great Mark Ruffalo...

By Alex Sandell of Juicy Cerebellum (7/0)
            Jennifer Garner's performance is sweet, bouncy, innocent and absolutely irresistible.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By James Sanford of Kalamazoo Gazette (7/0)
            Even when its laughs aren't as (pardon the pun) big as they should be, '13' doesn't lose the audi...

By Andrea Chase of Killer Movie Reviews (7/0)
            a harmless bit of fluff that will do much to consolidate Ms Garner’s big screen status even while...

By Scott Foundas of L.A. Weekly (7/0)
            For lack of an actual film to remake, Hollywood's fallback position is to concoct a hybrid cannib...

By Carol Cling of Las Vegas Review-Journal (7/0)
            Once you get past its inherent marshmallow fluffiness ... 13 Going on 30 does provide some genuin...

By Eric Melin of Lawrence.com (7/0)
            While [it's] the Keystone Light of Vice Versa movies, it also annoyingly adds itself to the ever-...

By Nick Schager of Lessons of Darkness (7/0)
            Hypocritically smears the very mascara it wears.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Manohla Dargis of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            Whenever [Garner's] on screen you don't want to look anywhere else.

By Connie Ogle of Miami Herald (7/0)
            Garner is so appealing as Jenna ... that she almost makes you forget you've already seen Tom Hank...

By Sue Pierman of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
            Like the song ['Thriller'], the movie strikes an overly familiar chord. But it's an infectious on...

By Susan Granger of Modamag.com (7/0)
            A great rollicking romp about second chances and turning back time. Jennifer Garner is particular...

By Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (7/0)
            On the surface it's not a lot more than Big with boobs, but the film has an agreeable charm and c...

By Frank Ochieng of Movie Eye (7/0)
            There’s a genuine and giddy warmth that makes this charming feminine teen tale into awkward woman...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (7/0)
            What makes it work is Garner, who is touching and hilarious. She is open and vulnerable but light...

By Michael Elliott of Movie Parables (7/0)
            [Garner] is engaging, vulnerable, and delightful as the thirteen year old trapped in a thirty yea...

By D.K. Holm of Movie Poop Shoot (7/0)
            The film is mildly diverting, with Garner doing a good pass at being a 13-year-old in an adult's ...

By Mark Ramsey of MovieJuice! (7/0)
            Her boss at the fashion magazine is none other than Gollum himself: "Tricksie subscriberses! In...

By Nick Davis of Nick's Flick Picks (7/0)
            13 Going on 30, flyaway though it is, has heart and modest craft where other, similar movies just...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            A sprightly surprise...a girl's wish-fulfillment fantasy that's engaging rather than trying, a ch...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (7/0)
            Totally grody!

By Jeanne Aufmuth of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            Doesn't have an original bone in its narrative body, but coasts through on a large dose of Jennif...

By Mike Sage of Peterborough This Week (7/0)
            Hopelessly predictable, with a gong-worthy deus-ex-machina dénouement to appease those darn test ...

By Jon Popick of Planet Sick-Boy (7/0)
            Garner looks really nice, and that's the only thing that kept me from bolting out of the theatre ...

By Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters (7/0)
            As Jenna, Garner embodies a joy that's all too rare on recent movie screens, in adults or kids.

By Linda Cook of Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (7/0)
            I thought this would be a rip-off of "Freaky Friday." Was I ever wrong.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Josh Gilchrist of rec.arts.movies.reviews (7/0)
            "13 Going On 30" makes no apologies for being a carbon copy of 1988's "big," although it's inevit...

By David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews (7/0)
            ...Garner's performance effectively keeps things interesting, even when the film is going through...

By Sarah Chauncey of Reel.com (7/0)
            The awkwardness of adolescence is timeless, and regardless of your age, you'll find something -- ...

By Laura Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            Winick's exuberant direction and Jennifer Garner's infectious performance... almost obscure just ...

By Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            Thank you Jennifer Garner. You made a thoroughly mediocre movie a bit better than it has any righ...

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (7/0)
            The movie may not be as good, uplifting, or perceptive as Big, but it's one of the better teen gi...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Forrest Hartman of Reno Gazette-Journal (7/0)
            [Mark] Ruffalo and [Jennifer] Garner look great together, and you get the feeling they like one a...

By Jack Garner of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (7/0)
            Though the film is less substantial and less magical than Big, it still frames an exuberant, ofte...

By Harry Guerin of RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) (7/0)
            Garner and Ruffalo take an average script and deliver a nice teen movie that harks back to the ge...

By Joe Baltake of Sacramento Bee (7/0)
            Disarming fun as it trails a little girl who almost learns too late what's important in life and ...

By Jim Lane of Sacramento News & Review (7/0)
            13 Going On 30 is the kind of movie in which the writers and director think a cute idea will carr...

By Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com (7/0)
            Like a petulant 13-year-old, I'm still pouting over my disappointment.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Jean Lowerison of San Diego Metropolitan (7/0)
            Whether you're 13, 30 or any other age, this film is a waste of time.

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            Garner, who turns out to be a charming, abandoned comedian, makes Jenna's incredulousness and inn...

By Bruce Newman of San Jose Mercury News (7/0)
            Subplots make the story feel labored, as if no one wanted to confront what it actually feels like...

By Ellen A. Kim of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            ...Garner's vulnerable, winning performance strikes emotional chords (not to mention nostalgia) i...

By Moira MacDonald of Seattle Times (7/0)
            You find yourself rooting for [Garner and Ruffalo], despite the predictability of the premise.

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (7/0)
            Blessed with sharply written dialog and vivid characters, even when the plot drifts into a swamp ...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            In 13 Going on 30, women are allowed happiness, but only if they choose the right man.

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            Takes the creative concepts of Big and turns them into a patently phony comedy.

By Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDWire (7/0)
            Without (Garner), 13 Going on 30 just wouldn't have the same charm. With her, it's magic.

By John Venable of Supercala.com (7/0)
            It's cute, occasionally funny, and sweetly sentimental. Score some points guys, take your chick t...

By Tony Toscano of Talking Pictures (U.S.) (7/0)
            Jennifer Garner, in her first romantic comedy, sparkles in this must-see date film.

By Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone of TheMovieChicks.com (7/0)
            You don't have to be 13 or 30 to have fun with this entertaining escape.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Scott Nash of Three Movie Buffs (7/0)
            Fans of Garner's, of which there are many, might find it cute and funny. I did not.

By Audrey Rock-Richardson of Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) (7/0)
            Leaves you feeling cheated and a bit cynical about the whole experience.

By Kam Williams of Town Topics (7/0)
            A rehash of familiar material, but the engaging Garner is charismatic enough to make it magical.

By Angel Cohn of TV Guide's Movie Guide (4/3)
            This sprightly coming-of-age-too-soon comedy rises above its derivative concept by virtue of a we...

By Claudia Puig of USA Today (7/0)
            You don't have to be a teen to enjoy 13 Going on 30.

By Willie Waffle of WaffleMovies.com (7/0)
            Yes, 13 Going on 30 is a rip-off of Tom Hanks's Big, but it has its own merits and charm (that's ...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Jeffrey Chen of Window to the Movies (7/0)
            Garner makes the most of her chance to shine here ... Mark Ruffalo is also charming, and it's the...

By Elvis Mitchell of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            The performances give the movie more flavor and life than the situation does...

By Bill Muller of Arizona Republic (3/4) No reference
            Garner is supposed to have a teenage mentality, but she marches around with preternaturally good ...

By Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (4/3) No reference
            Jennifer Garner gracefully graduates to movie stardom.

By Christopher Smith of Bangor Daily News (Maine) (3/4) No reference
            Makes "Mean Girls" look downright evil in comparison. Still, beneath the fluff, there's a measure...

By Christine James of Boxoffice Magazine (3/4) No reference
            It's the ultimate extreme makeover ... but the result is another good-looking clone without much ...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Rob Thomas of Capital Times (Madison, WI) (3/4) No reference
            This is a strange sort of comedy where the big jokes don't work but the little ones do.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (5/2) No reference
            Jennifer Garner is indeed a charmer, but she's the victim of a charmless treatment...

By Pablo Villaca of Cinema em Cena (3/4) No reference
            Por que contar a história de uma menina que se torna adulta se isto não será explorado pelo filme...

By Jeffrey Bruner of Des Moines Register (3/4) No reference
            Jennifer Garner takes the stock moments found in all of these movies - the first kiss, for exampl...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (6/1) No reference
            It turns out Garner is a natural comedian with real presence. And, ultimately, her convincing per...

By Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper (3/4) No reference
            Like Hanks in Big, and Jamie Lee Curtis in Freaky Friday, Jennifer Garner is funny and endearing ...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Vince Koehler of Entertainment Spectrum (3/4) No reference
            Jennifer Garner stars in a romantic comedy with Mark Ruffalo that reminds you of Tom Hanks movie ...

By Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat (3/4) No reference
            There are the makings of a decent movie here ... Unfortunately, initial promise eventually gives ...

By Bruce Kirkland of Jam! Movies (3/4) No reference
            The script by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa is clever and Winick's direction and tone is breezy.

By Louis B. Hobson of Jam! Movies (3/4) No reference
            It's not silly enough to be a youth comedy and not sophisticated enough to be a satisfying adult ...

By Loey Lockerby of Kansas City Star (3/4) No reference
            Miraculously Garner survives all this, giving a vibrant performance that actually does suggest an...

By Bob Strauss of Los Angeles Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Makes no emotional or narrative sense.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Jeff Strickler of Minneapolis Star Tribune (3/4) No reference
            [Garner] is appearing in her first comedy since Dude, Where's My Car? And she seems to be having ...

By Jorge Avila Andrade of Moviola (3/4) No reference
            'Garner es simple y sencillamente adorable, mostrando que puede llegar a convertirse en una verda...

By James Rocchi of Netflix (3/4) No reference
            Likable two-for-one combo of Big and Regarding Henry offers stars whose charms help cover up scri...

By Jami Bernard of New York Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Just when you think there is nothing left to mine in the body-switch genre, 13 Going on 30 is an ...

By Jonathan Foreman of New York Post (3/4) No reference
            ...a surprisingly charming and fresh comedy...

By Lisa Rose of Newark Star-Ledger (3/4) No reference
            Frothier than the sweetest drink at Starbuck's and deft in the slapstick department, the actress ...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By John Anderson of Newsday (3/4) No reference
            Unlike Hanks in Big, there's little consistency to [Garner's] character.

By M.E. Russell of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            The film wins you over with its sweetness.

By Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            It's nice to know that, Hanks or Garner, male or female, Big is still an idea that works, 16 year...

By Steve Schneider of Orlando Weekly (3/4) No reference
            When we first spy suburban washout Jenna Rink at the age of 13, the year is supposedly 1987 -- ye...

By Gary Thompson of Philadelphia Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Essentially a facsimile, and feels throughout like a movie content to imitate and borrow.

By Carrie Rickey of Philadelphia Inquirer (3/4) No reference
            Garner is a delight, a completely accessible personality in completely forbidding clothes.

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (3/4) No reference
            As films of this sort go, this one is solidly entertaining.

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (3/4) No reference
            Whenever the movie veers toward ... complexity, it abruptly turns tail and runs, trailed by a clo...

By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (3/4) No reference
            Although director Gary Winick can put a smile on such stuff, and dispose of actors without trashi...

By Phoebe Flowers of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            Garner's heretofore unexploited comedic prowess is what catapults 13 Going on 30 from passably en...

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (3/4) No reference
            It's an appealing package and, like Julia Roberts or Meg Ryan, Garner seems designed for romantic...

By Josh Larsen of Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (3/4) No reference
            ...like a game of reverse dress-up, in which an adult mugs about unconvincingly in the clothes of...

                         Reviews of 13 Going On 30
By Mark Collette of Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (3/4) No reference
            Sickeningly cute, surprisingly energetic and alarmingly clever.

By Sara Gebhardt of Washington Post (3/4) No reference
            A film whose far-fetched foundation is overshadowed by the endearing story.

Movie Distributors
Sony Pictures Releasing

Production Companies
Roundtable Entertainment
Roth/Arnold Productions
Independent Digital Entertainment (InDigEnt)
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group

Movie Studios
Revolution Studios
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group