How have I only watched this movie this year?! I never thought I’d see Mark Ruffalo as a romantic interest….

13 Going On 30 is about a young girl called Jenna who, on her thirteenth birthday, wishes she could be thirty (because that’s when you’re supposed to have your life together). Her wish comes true and she wakes up in her apartment with a handsome boyfriend and her dream job working for a magazine. I wish this was possible in real life.

But of course Jenna is confused and it takes her time to come to terms with what has happened. Her best friend of her childhood, Matt, is no longer her best friend and everything is surreal. But because of her new outlook on life she is able to make things better for her own life, her relationships, and her company. She realises that she grew up to be a pretty awful person and overtime her inner 13 year old self makes things right again. And of course she ends up with Matt because duh.

But my question with any movie like this is, is it a dream or do they really time travel? Because surely that’d mean sometime in their future they would black out for a few days while their child self takes their body over, and also, Jenna returns to her thirteen year old self at the end so won’t she live her life differently? Won’t she become a better person thus making everything she did do as an adult mute? What does it all mean?! Does she end up with the hot boyfriend or not?!

But, despite all my questions, this movie is very fun and I see why a lot of people love it. It has a fun storyline, a very cute love story, and all the simple tropes of a good rom-com. Jenna is a fun character so she is enjoyable to watch, and the same with Matt. it’s just one of those films where you cheer on the good guys and boo the bad guys because that’s their characters. One’s good, one’s bad. Simple.

I would definitely watch this movie again, as even though it’s quite old, it’s not cringey or too outdated. I think we can all resonate with Jenna’s desire to be 30 and have her life together, hey I’m 23 and I’m hoping that’ll happen to me one day! Overall it’s a fun, heartwarming film and definitely gives you some motivation to get your own life together too!

What’d you think of 13 Going On 30?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding