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The Parent Trap

The Parent Trap

Comedy · Family · Romance · 1998

Hallie Parker and Annie James are identical twins who were separated at a young age due to their parents' divorce. Unbeknownst to their parents, the girls are sent to the same summer camp, where they meet, discover the truth about their relationship, and come up with a plan to switch places in an effort to reunite their mother and father.

Movie details

The Parent Trap

“Twice the Fun, Double the Trouble.”

1998 Comedy · Family · Romance 2h 8m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

Hallie Parker and Annie James are identical twins who were separated at a young age due to their parents' divorce. Unbeknownst to their parents, the girls are sent to the same summer camp, where they meet, discover the truth about their relationship, and come up with a plan to switch places in an effort to reunite their mother and father.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Parent Trap?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Parent Trap

The Parent Trap

Comedy · 1961

Two identical twin sisters, separated at birth by their parents' divorce, are reunited years later at a summer camp, where they scheme to bring their parents back together. The girls, one of whom has been living with their mother and the other with their father, switch places after camp and go to work on their plan, the first objective being to scare off a gold-digger pursuing their father.

A Cinderella Story

A Cinderella Story

Comedy · 2004

Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance.

It Takes Two

It Takes Two

Comedy · 1995

Identical 9-year-olds from very different backgrounds: orphaned Amanda and wealthy Alyssa meet at summer camp and decide to switch places -- and play matchmaker between Alyssa's dad, Roger, and the kind social worker who cares for Amanda.

Anyone but You

Anyone but You

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After an amazing first date, Bea and Ben’s fiery attraction turns ice cold — until they find themselves unexpectedly reunited at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.

Just Go with It

Just Go with It

Comedy · 2011

While romancing Palmer, a much younger schoolteacher, plastic surgeon Danny Maccabee enlists his loyal assistant Katherine to pretend to be his soon to be ex-wife, in order to cover up a careless lie. When more lies backfire, Katherine's kids become involved, and everyone heads off for a weekend in Hawaii that will change all their lives.

People We Meet on Vacation

People We Meet on Vacation

Comedy · 2026

Poppy's a free spirit. Alex loves a plan. After years of summer vacations, these polar-opposite pals wonder if they could be a perfect romantic match.

Zoey 102

Zoey 102

Romance · 2023

Pacific Coast Academy alumni return to Malibu for an over-the-top wedding that turns into a high school reunion for the books.

Yours, Mine & Ours

Yours, Mine & Ours

Comedy · 2005

Admiral Frank Beardsley returns to New London to run the Coast Guard Academy, his last stop before a probable promotion to head the Guard. A widower with eight children, he runs a loving but tight ship, with charts and salutes. The kids long for a permanent home. Helen North is a free spirit, a designer whose ten children live in loving chaos, with occasional group hugs. Helen and Frank, high school sweethearts, reconnect at a reunion, and it's love at first re-sighting. They marry on the spot. Then the problems start as two sets of kids, the free spirits and the disciplined preppies, must live together. The warring factions agree to work together to end the marriage.

Ramona and Beezus

Ramona and Beezus

Comedy · 2010

Ramona is a little girl with a very big imagination and a nose for mischief. Her playful antics keep everyone in her loving family on their toes, including her older sister Beezus, who's just trying to survive her first year of high school. Through all the ups and downs of childhood, Ramona and Beezus learn that anything's possible when you believe in yourself and rely on each other.

Father of the Bride

Father of the Bride

Comedy · 1991

George Banks is an ordinary, middle-class man whose 22 year-old daughter Annie has decided to marry a man from an upper-class family, but George can't think of what life would be like without his daughter. His wife tries to make him happy for Annie, but when the wedding takes place at their home and a foreign wedding planner takes over the ceremony, he becomes slightly insane.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Nancy Meyers

Written by

Nancy Meyers · David Swift · Charles Shyer

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan

Hallie Parker / Annie James

Dennis Quaid

Dennis Quaid

Nick Parker

Natasha Richardson

Natasha Richardson

Elizabeth James

Elaine Hendrix

Elaine Hendrix

Meredith Blake

Lisa Ann Walter

Lisa Ann Walter

Chessy

Simon Kunz

Simon Kunz

Martin

Polly Holliday

Polly Holliday

Marva Kulp, Sr.

Court is in session

Put The Parent Trap on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.