Tom Hanks in the 1988 film Big. Photo: 20th Century Fox
Tom Hanks in the 1988 film Big. Photo: 20th Century Fox
Tom Hanks in the 1988 film Big. Photo: 20th Century Fox
Tom Hanks in the 1988 film Big. Photo: 20th Century Fox

Six of the best body swap films, from 13 Going on 30 to Miss Granny


Evelyn Lau
  • English
  • Arabic

Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are back – almost. The pair will reprise their roles as daughter and mother in an upcoming sequel to the 2003 film Freaky Friday. The project, it was revealed last week at Disney’s D23 fan convention, will be called Freakier Friday and is expected to be in cinemas in 2025.

The comedy will pick up years after the initial storyline, in which the mother-daughter pair are constantly at odds and struggle to connect. It takes a freak body-swap phenomenon for the duo to eventually gain a better understanding of each other's perspective.

A cinematic hit, Freaky Friday raked in $160 million worldwide at the box office. It paved the way for child star Lohan's grown-up acting career, as she went on to star in Mean Girls the following year. Entertaining as the original movie was, its premise was by no means a unique one. The body swap genre is ingrained in storytelling – from protagonists wishing away time and waking up at different life stages, to clashing duos looking in the mirror to see their nemesis's reflection.

While there’s still a little bit of a wait for Freakier Friday, here are some other well-received films involving body swaps that are worth watching in the meantime.

13 Going on 30 (2004)

Jenna Rink is a nerdy 13-year-old girl who wishes to skip her awkward teenage years. After a humiliating birthday party, she makes a wish to be “thirty, flirty and thriving” and miraculously wakes up the next day as a 30-year-old living in a luxurious apartment with a successful career.

As Jenna navigates her new life, she discovered she is the editor of a major fashion magazine and is popular and glamorous, but she’s also estranged from her childhood best friend Matt and has lost touch with the values she once held dear.

Big (1988)

Tom Hanks plays Josh Baskin, a 12-year-old boy who wishes to be “big” after a frustrating experience at a carnival. One day, he wakes up in the body of a 30-year-old man, leading to a series of comedic and interesting adventures as he navigates adult life. Josh secures a job at a toy company and becomes a hit with both children and colleagues, but he soon realises that the complexities of adulthood are more challenging than he thought.

Rashid & Rajab (2019)

Rashid & Rajab stars Shadi Alfons, left, and Marwan Abdullah Saleh. Photo: Image Nation Abu Dhabi
Rashid & Rajab stars Shadi Alfons, left, and Marwan Abdullah Saleh. Photo: Image Nation Abu Dhabi

The film is a comedy-drama that revolves around the lives of a wealthy Emirati executive named Rashid and a care-free Egyptian fast food delivery person Rajab. They come from different backgrounds. One day, they are involved in a freak accident that causes them to switch bodies. They gain a different perspective into each other’s lives as they look for a way to go back to their former selves.

The Dude in Me (2019)

The South Korean film follows Dong-hyun, an awkward high school student who slips off the rooftop and falls on top of Pan-soo, a member of a criminal organisation. When they both awaken at the hospital, they realised they’ve somehow switched bodies. As they learn to navigate their new lives, Pan-soo unexpectedly forms bonds with Dong-hyun’s family and friends, while Dong-hyun has to learn to survive in the dangerous criminal underworld.

Your Name (2016)

The Japanese anime tells the story of two high school students, Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu, who live in different parts of Japan. One day, they inexplicably begin to swap bodies and live each other's lives. As they try to uncover the mystery behind their connection, they form a deep bond. However, they soon discover that their meeting transcends time and space, leading to a poignant and emotional journey as they strive to find each other.

Miss Granny (2014)

The South Korean film follows Oh Mal-soon, a 74-year-old widow who lives with her son and his family. She has a difficult relationship with her depressed daughter-in-law but is proud of her son, who she raised by herself. One day, Mal-soon finds that she has transformed back into her 20-year-old self after visiting a mysterious photo studio. Embracing her newfound youth, she renames herself Oh Doo-ri and decides to pursue the dreams she never had a chance to fulfil.

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The Details

Kabir Singh

Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series

Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa

Rating: 2.5/5 

FOOTBALL TEST

Team X 1 Team Y 0

Scorers

Red card

Man of the Match

 

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company profile

Date started: 2015

Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki

Based: Dubai

Sector: Online grocery delivery

Staff: 200

Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8 
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k

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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

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Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

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Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

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Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 290hp

Torque: 340Nm

Price: Dh155,800

On sale: now

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

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Company Fact Box

Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup 

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

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Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
  1. Steve Baker
  2. Peter Bone
  3. Ben Bradley
  4. Andrew Bridgen
  5. Maria Caulfield​​​​​​​
  6. Simon Clarke 
  7. Philip Davies
  8. Nadine Dorries​​​​​​​
  9. James Duddridge​​​​​​​
  10. Mark Francois 
  11. Chris Green
  12. Adam Holloway
  13. Andrea Jenkyns
  14. Anne-Marie Morris
  15. Sheryll Murray
  16. Jacob Rees-Mogg
  17. Laurence Robertson
  18. Lee Rowley
  19. Henry Smith
  20. Martin Vickers 
  21. John Whittingdale
Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

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Company profile

Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

Date started: May 2021 

Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded 

SNAPSHOT

While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.

Updated: August 14, 2024, 5:57 PM