By Dave Workman

"13 Going on 30"

Directed by: Gary Winick

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Christa B. Allen, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker

Rated: PG-13 (mild sexual innuendo and drug reference)

Running time: 98 minutes

Best suited for: Mom/daughter outings, teen dates, families, rom-com fans

Least suited for: curmudgeons

Acorn’s Rating Guide:

Sorry, but I can’t help sizing up "13 Going on 30" against Penny Marshall’s 1988 groundbreaking "Big." It’s a heavy burden for any out-of-body switcharoo film, but the good news is that "13" stands up nicely—and in nominal ways even surpasses Marshall’s classic "wanna-be-grown-up-now!" concept. This is a modernized, feminine, amnesiac version.

"13 Going on 30" is a bittersweet comedy about Jenna, a nerdy 13-year-old (Christa B. Allen) who wants desperately to be popular. The year is 1987 and the cool girls despise her, taunt her and ultimately ditch her at her own 13th birthday party, in a scene too rude to be true—unless (I’m told) you happen to be a 13-year-old girl.

Jenna wishes so desperately to be grown that, with the help of some hokey magic, she awakens the next morning in 2004 as a successful, but utterly confused, 30-year-old, living a glam, to-die-for life in Manhattan.

Here’s where comparison with "Big" ends. Jenna is 30 and has lived her last 17 years—she just can’t remember them. Mentally and emotionally, Jenna is again 13, facing an adult world without a roadmap or a clue about her life since her 13th birthday.

The problem is the adolescent Jenna doesn’t like her new world very much. (Great concept. How many of us, seeing ourselves from the perspective of our idealistic childhood, would be aghast at what we’ve become?) Jenna may be successful, but she’s lost more than innocence along the way.

"13 Going on 30" lets the chips fall with harsh reality. Jenna realizes she’s not a particularly nice person. Far from it. In both plot structure and as morality fable, the film is solid. Yes, it has its predicable moments. Yes, it’s stereotypical. The trendy, stuck-up "it" girls at 13 are the unscrupulous, business titans at 30. The high-school hunks are now society’s burnouts, and the chubby, endearing best-buddy types are now the great catches. And what’s with the homage to Michael Jackson? Still, it’s fun, well-paced and well-crafted. Written by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa ("What Woman Want"), there’s a sense of nostalgic wistfulness here that doesn’t turn maudlin or preachy.

Probably the film’s best gift is Jennifer Garner—Jenna at 30—who so adroitly pantomimes the astonishment, the grossness, and the utter horror of a 13-year-old trapped in a grown woman’s body. There are, she decides, a few decent attributes about being 30. And credit cards are nice. But for the most part, she’s mortified by her alter ego—or rather, her adult ego, transformed by maturity’s pressures to succeed at any cost.

This is the heart of the film, that oft-told—but told very well here—morality tale of getting everything you desire. That’s also part of the hokey magic. Be careful what you wish for—wishes can come true.

Also exceptional is Jenna’s ex-best-friend, Matt (Mark Ruffalo). At 13, Matt (played by Sean Marquette) was Jenna’s chunky, empathetic, budding soulmate. At 30, he’s the slimmed down, savvy but cautious empathetic male, who informs Jenna that she terminated their friendship the day of her 13th birthday party, although she can’t remember that either. Nor can she fathom why she would have done such a terrible thing.

The mature Matt is both Jenna’s guide to her past and to her senses. There’s an on-screen chemistry between the two that works nicely, without interfering with Jenna’s inner search for redemption. And redemption is really what this film is about—exploring those rare second chances in life that can sometimes make all the difference in the world.

In a nutshell: "13 Going on 30" starts a little awkwardly and doesn’t begin to tickle until Jennifer Garner hits the screen. But despite its predictability and glossy sentimentality, this is a truly fun, well-crafted and inspirational treat that will leave you smiling, and perhaps a little nostalgic for Wang Chung.