13 Going on 30’s Mixed Messages | Good and Bad Takeaways

13 Going On 30 is a mixed bag of timeless and outdated takeaways. The story of a 13 year-old who gets her wish of fast-forwarding through into being a successful 30 year-old (Jennifer Garner) centers on a great message to learn at any age: chasing popularity won’t make you happy, and it’s crucial to hang on to what makes you original. Along the way to telling this story, though, the movie also ends up vilifying female success, and puts a lot of pressure on finding an ideal true love to a degree that every other aspect of a life (like a career, independence and personal development) don’t seem to matter. Here are the Mixed Messages of 13 Going On 30.

Support The Take:
Support our channel and look great doing it with Take t-shirts, hoodies, and more!
If you like this video, subscribe to our channel and support us by:

Follow The Take:

We are The Take (formerly ScreenPrism).

Ok, this movie does have many problems, but can we all agree that Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo have amazing chemistry and the movie is endlessly entertaining?

[magaaliii]

Sort of off topic but it always amazed me how similar the actresses who play teen and adult Lucy are.

[plebweeb]

Ok but I can't be the only one who legitimately teared up when adult Jenna went home, embraced her parents, and ate a cheesy cute sun pancake. It was so cute to see her parents see her for the vulnerable, lost child she still was. They just knew, and it was incredibly powerful.

[siracastori]

The most outdated aspect of this film is that people could possibly live in a big flat alone and have a steady, well remunerated job at 30...

[Spicie]

I went to school with a girl who tried to be a Regina George queen bee. She was popular when we were younger for being athletic and playing on the girls' football (European here, so that would be the sport where you kick the ball with your feet for 90 minutes). It was probably after her dad died in a tragic accident that she began acting like a mean girl and kind of annoying - not malicious though. At one point, we went to different schools for a year before going in different classes at the same secondary school. When I met her again, she was perfectly nice and normal then. It really gave me a different perspective on the role to recognise she was just a human being like myself.

[crod]

Overall, I think this movie has more meaningful takeaways than toxic ones, which is pretty impressive for a rom-com.

[hoikatia]

another toxic takeaway: you gotta have it all by 30

[trinaq]

I always wondered how Jenna suddenly became the most popular girl in school after such a short time. Though, it's possible that Matt kept her grounded, and that without him, she lost her kind nature.

[Epodmusic]

Another argument that I can make for Lucy is that it makes sense that she was the only one in the office not convinced by Jenna's changed persona. Lucy had known Jenna for so long. For everyone else in the office they dealt with Jenna at work and then went home. Lucy, however, dealt with her socially and at work and had BEEN dealing with her for several years by that point. It makes perfect sense that she was fed up and being "mean" to Jenna. She probably thought Jenna was just up to her usual sneaky bullshit. And based on the person Jenna had become, she was perfectly valid in thinking that.

[williameyelash]

Also for good message I've always loved how 30's are portrayed as young and ideal not just where you become an old lady with your life over. As a 28 year old I appreciate that a lot hahah

[Pinkladyisv]

I absolutely love this movie but as an adult watching I can’t help but notice how Matt carried on an emotional affair with Jenna while he was engaged. I’m giving Jenna some leeway because she’s literally a 13 year old still in personality but Matt was a grown man.

[this_fanny]

I'm loving this Mixed Messages series! Not judging only the bad parts or the good ones in a movie, but the whole thing as an entire creation that reflects someone's perspective 👏🏻

[catsrule]

In my high school, most of the popular kids were popular because they were nice, funny, and outgoing, not because they were mean

[cassidyleonards]

How dare you imply that Jenna's outfits are bad. She rocked those looks. They were fun

[lilil]

I think Judy Greer gave Lucy more than she was told to do, she could play a more tridimensional character if given the chance in future movies

[alarcon]

One thing I learned (specially nowadays) is that sometimes, the popular kid, is popular because they are kind, generous and genuine to others.

[Hollyberrystreats]

I thought no one reacting to Jenna's ridiculous party dress was just a reference to fashion's nostalgic trend cycles and the 80s being back when that movie came out.

[Rv]

One of my favorite childhood movies. I was 13 when it came out and now I'm 30. I wish I could go back to being 13 in 2004.

[thatRyzzle]

I love how Gollum is the “Who's Your Daddy?” guy in this one.

[trinaq]

Jenna's redesign proposal for the magazine never really looked all that impressive to me. Sure, it might be justified due to her mental age, but it's a little hard to believe that someone would actually resort to ripping off the amateur design for their own magazine.