Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
76
(500) Days of Summer
49
2012
60
9
17
All About Steve
37
Amelia
53
Astro Boy
70
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
52
Blind Side
47
Box, The
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
55
Christmas Carol, A
43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
23
Couples Retreat
39
Fame
30
Final Destination, The
34
Fourth Kind, The
41
G-Force
46
Halloween II
73
Hangover, The
78
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
66
Informant!, The
69
Inglourious Basterds
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
66
Julie & Julia
34
Law Abiding Citizen
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
28
Pandorum
58
Pirate Radio
39
Planet 51
30
Saw VI
53
Shorts
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
46
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
71
Where the Wild Things Are
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
58
(Untitled)
96
35 Shots of Rum
56
Adam
39
Adventures of Power
66
Afterschool
73
Amreeka
49
Antichrist
76
Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86
Beaches of Agnes, The
71
Big Fan
65
Black Dynamite
76
Bliss
26
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
44
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81
Bright Star
76
Broken Embraces
70
Bronson
62
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
60
Collapse
82
Cove, The
75
Crude
82
Damned United, The
53
Dare
50
Defamation
67
Departures
70
Earth Days
85
Education, An
55
Endgame
88
Fantastic Mr. Fox
31
Fix
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
xx
From Mexico with Love
28
Gentlemen Broncos
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo
63
Horse Boy, The
74
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
26
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
43
Little Traitor, The
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
46
Love Hurts
84
Maid, The
45
Mammoth
75
Messenger, The
55
Missing Person, The
59
More Than a Game
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
48
New York, I Love You
66
No Impact Man
26
Oh My God
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
Red Cliff
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
65
Skin
41
Splinterheads
42
Staten Island
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
58
Storm
82
Sun, The
49
Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon
73
That Evening Sun
61
Trucker
49
Turning Green
83
U2 3D
45
Uncertainty
67
Visual Acoustics
32
War on Kids
67
Way We Get By, The
65
Wedding Song, The
xx
White on Rice
59
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
74
Woman in Berlin, A
43
Women in Trouble
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
13 Going On 30
EMAILPRINTColumbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 35 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 33 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Drama | Romance
Written by:
Cathy Yuspa (also story)
Josh Goldsmith (also story)
Niels Mueller
Directed by: Gary Winick
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 23, 2004
DVD: August 3, 2004
Running Time: 97 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for some sexual content and brief drug references
Starring Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Christa B. Allen, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker, Jack Salvatore Jr., and Phil Reeves
It is 1987 and Jenna is a 13-year-old girl on the brink of womanhood. The problem is that adulthood is just not arriving fast enough. She makes a wish on her birthday: If only she could be all grown up, she'd have the life she's always wanted. Miraculously, her wish comes true. (Columbia Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Charlotte's Web Tadpole The Tic Code
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The rare commercial comedy that leaves you entranced by what can happen only in the movies.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
A charming, funny piece of wish-fulfillment for young girls -- and, if you're much older than that, a disturbing critique of modern male sexuality.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
The lanky action star of the cult television series "Alias" is assigned a tired playbook in this film, but she finds room to manoeuvre in a performance that exceeds expectations.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
The possibilities of Jenna's confusion are exploited for full comic effect. Garner, who turns out to be a charming, abandoned comedian, makes Jenna's incredulousness and innocence very funny and occasionally even touching.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
While 13 Going on 30 is too formulaic to sustain the delicacy of emotion that gave "Big" its appeal, it has tour-de-farce moments that made screenwriters Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa's "What Women Want" such a monster hit.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Ellen A. Kim
Garner's vulnerable, winning performance strikes emotional chords (not to mention nostalgia) in this fantasy comedy.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
An unexpected pleasure, a buoyant comedy that will make you feel young again.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Isn't the best romantic comedy one might wish for, but it's more than good enough.
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Does a good job of reviving stale material. Thanks to a snappy script by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa and an effervescent performance by Jennifer Garner, this romantic comedy has a buoyant personality.
Read Full Review >Variety Joe Leydon
A star vehicle composed of second-hand parts that nevertheless gets great mileage (and big laughs) from its recycled plot.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Sara Gebhardt
A film whose far-fetched foundation is overshadowed by the endearing story.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
If "13 Going on 30" isn't exactly original, it's still reasonably cool.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Garner bounces around gleefully as the young spirit enveloped by this adult body. She's young enough herself to remember what it was like to be that age, and she has the vulnerability, zest and slightly over-the-top reactions of a seventh-grader.
Read Full Review >New York Post Jonathan Foreman
The filmmakers have an pleasurably accurate sense of the embarrassments that darken early adolescence and of the amazing cruelty of teenage girls.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
The best thing about 13 Going on 30 is that an ever-game Jennifer Garner is cheerfully convincing as a 13-year-old in a 30-year-old body. The worst thing is the feeling we've seen this movie before, done better.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
It's looking for comedy and romance in the obvious places.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Connie Ogle
Garner may be a study in butt-kicking intensity on TV's Alias, but here, she's an engaging comic performer who more than carries her share of what is essentially an unoriginal, mostly average film.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Angel Cohn
Director Gary Winick serves up enough giddy fun that it's easy to turn a blind eye to the film's skewed sense of time and minor anachronisms.
Read Full Review >Empire Olly Richards
If there's a criticism to be made, it's that the script doesn't push itself far enough with the moments in which it excels.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
I was so charmed by the opening scenes of 13 Going on 30, and so entertained by the middle portion of it, that I had high hopes for its ending -- hopes that were cruelly dashed. Like a petulant 13-year-old, I'm still pouting over my disappointment.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis
The plot hinges on Jenna's horrified realization that her adult self is a witch, but 13 Going On 30 -- works foremost as a vehicle for its rising star.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
The performances give the movie more flavor and life than the situation does; it often feels like prechewed Bubble Yum.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Retreads a well-worn premise (Freaky Friday, Big) but the formula works, thanks in large part to star Jennifer Garner, who's so radiant theaters should be stocking sunblock.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Jennifer Garner is indeed a charmer, but she's the victim of a charmless treatment in 13 Going on 30.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
Cheers and many happy returns to Garner as she makes her first starring film role. She's the real deal. But jeers to every other aspect of 13 Going On 30.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Jorge Morales
Anyway, the thirtysomething in me was all, gag me with a spoon, but the kid in me was like, this movie's rad to the max.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Scott Foundas
The director of 13 Going on 30, Gary Winick, was unable to infuse this material with either the sustained screwball cadences of his earlier "Tadpole" or an emotional resonance comparable to that of his superb "The Tic Code."
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
Plays like it was made by people who are 30 going on 13. The movie is as flighty and mixed up as the adolescent girl at its center.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
You won't find a load of laughs in 13 Going on 30, but there's plenty of whimsy, which is a close cousin of genuine humor.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky
What could have been an engaging, maybe even enlightening story about the unfairly high price a woman pays for conducting herself like a man winds up as nothing more than a worthless, harmless and ultimately charmless piffle.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
Does it have its moments? A few, but those alone put it head and shoulders above similar offerings featuring, say, Julia Roberts.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
The film lacks the emotional resonance that made "Big" such a sentimental favorite with audiences of all ages.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.1 (out of 10) based on 33 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Idelka R. gave it a10:
Jen Garner is a great actress. Her performance in movie was really enchanting.
Gerry gave it an8:
Cool movie, Garner is more than just a (very) pretty face, she has unreal charisma and charm. The movie never drags, and who can't relate to the adolescent angst that she and her would-be boyfriend experience, as well as the feelings we all have as we get older that cause us to wonder if we had just done "this, or that" a bit different when we were younger, things might have turned out better? In a sense, the movie is really like a combination of "Best Friend's Weddiing", and the theme about the Ghost of Christamas Future from Dickens. Unlike Julia, she gets a second chance, which is cool, because someone as awesome as Garner will ALWAYS get a second chance...I mean, she deserves it, she knows it, and we know it! Totally charming movie, and I think very well cast as well, it is a disservice to simply call it a "chick flick" (OK, it is, but there's more to it than that) or something similarly demeaning. This movie has real class, and Jennifer Garner, in my book, is the coolest of the new young actresses.
matt a. gave it a2:
I like Tom Hanks better. Stick to Alias girlfriend.
Ausin A. gave it a9:
Both cute and spunky.
Kevin E. gave it a0:
Rented it because the reviewers all gushed over Garner, and this her official superstar coming out film. What a load of crap. A stale hollywood formula from the get go, and Garner wanders around in a cartoonish state of exasperated wonder so HUGE that I longed for a CGI version of this movie so that it could be more realistic. I couldn't watch much, so I have no idea how the completely implausible story line was dealt with, if it ever was, but who cares because this kind of junk is a complete waste of time, as was the money, effort, electricity, gas, clothing, food, alarm-clock-setting, phone calls, faxing, driving, yapping, power lunches, screenings, etc that went into the making of it. C'mon people!
clare s. gave it a7:
I liked it, but I wish the guy had been wearing boxers and not y-fronts when doing the striptease. That was gross-guys, burn them.
Andy W. gave it a2:
Could be the dictionary definition of "going through the motions". Includes all the ingredients that made Big such a great film, but lacks any magic or chemistry to hold them all together. And the ending is excruciating.
