DVD Review: The Parent Trap (1961)
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that, beyond a little dated stereotyping of the roles men and women in relationships, kids will see nothing objectionable in this movie. The slow pacing might put off younger viewers.
- Families can talk about the movie's message. Do comedies often have messages? Do you think the movie remains relevant today when kids are more knowing and parents divorce openly, rather than hiding it as these parents did?
Sharon and Susan (both Hayley Mills) are as different as night and day, and they become instant enemies when they meet at summer camp. Proper Sharon grew up in Boston with mother Maggie, and tomboy Susan lives out West on a ranch with father Mitch. When they unexpectedly discover they're identical twins, Sharon and Susan switch places to try to reunite their parents so they can stay together. Susan goes to Boston, where she gets to know her lonely mother Maggie. Sharon goes to the ranch, where she discovers that Mitch is about to get married to Vicky, a much younger woman who's most interested in the millions he has in the bank. In desperation, Sharon summons Susan and Maggie to the ranch, and the girls hatch a plan to get their parents back together.
Quaintly old-fashioned by today's standards, the original PARENT TRAP still charms, thanks to heartfelt performances of stars Hayley Mills, Brian Keith, and Maureen O'Hara. The storyline here is virtually the same as in the 1998 remake, with the main difference being Mitch and Maggie's rather dated notions about the war between the sexes. Hayley Mills believably plays both Susan and Sharon, and shines in the movie's memorable musical number, "Let's Get Together," which the remake omits.
For kids who are willing to watch a movie that unfolds at a more leisurely pace, The Parent Trap is an entertaining relic from a time when kids were far less knowing. As an added bonus, parents will enjoy the interplay between the movie's adults, which is a deeper and more dramatic than in the remake.
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