Summary

• Chad Michael Murray's role in Mother of the Bride connects to his 2003 comedy Freaky Friday.
• In addition to another big connection, both movies feature him falling in love with single mothers.
• Murray's role in Mother of the Bride proves he should return for Freaky Friday 2 with Lohan and Curtis.

Mother of the Bride contains a subtle connection to one of star Chad Michael Murray's early comedy movies with Lindsay Lohan. The new movie, which is unrelated to the Father of the Bride franchise, is a Netflix original romantic comedy that also stars Brooke Shields, Miranda Cosgrove, Sean Teale, Rachael Harris, and Benjamin Bratt. It comes from a screenplay by Robin Bernheim, whose previous collaborations with the streaming service include the Princess Switch trilogy and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding.

His part in the Mother of the Bride cast provides Murray with his first role in the romance genre since 2021. While he has recently dabbled in other types of projects including the action movie Fortress and its sequel Fortress: Sniper's Eye, he is best known for playing romantic leads in soapy dramas and comedies. In addition to playing major roles in a string of CW series including One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, Dawson's Creek, and Riverdale, he has appeared in movies including 2004's A Cinderella Story, in which he starred opposite Hilary Duff.

Chad Michael Murray's Mother Of The Bride Role Is Very Similar To His Freaky Friday Character

The 21-Year-Old Movie Has Two Major Connections To Mother Of The Bride

While Chad Michael Murray's Mother of the Bride character mimics his early roles in many ways including the name Lucas, it is most directly connected to his role in 2003's Freaky Friday in a subtle way. In that movie, which also starred Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, he played the heartthrob Jake. Jake's romance with teenage love interest Anna Coleman in the body of her mother Tess is mirrored in Lucas, who also strikes a romantic spark with the single mother at the center of his new movie.

Lucas was also the name of Chad Michael Murray's character in One Tree Hill.

This connection between Mother of the Bride and Freaky Friday is not likely to be a coincidence. After all, both movies were directed by the same man, Mean Girls' Mark Waters. The Netflix movie marks the first time that Murray and Waters have collaborated on a project since the 2003 comedy, so it's entirely possible that the director intentionally brought Murray on board as a bit of stunt casting to sneak in a sly reference to his earlier movie.

Mother Of The Bride Proves Chad Michael Murray Needs To Return As Jake In Freaky Friday 2

Freaky Friday 2 Is The Franchise's First Direct Sequel

His role in Mother of the Bride proves that Murray needs to reprise his role in the upcoming Freaky Friday 2, which is in development with Lohan and Curtis attached. While Murray is not officially on board for the project, he previously expressed interest in returning while speaking with Collider, mentioning that the 2003 movie was a big reason for his reunion with Mark Waters and asking "How great would that be?" This new 2024 title proves he has both the willingness and ability to play a similar character, so returning to play Jake is the natural next step.

Click here to watch Mother of the Bride on Netflix

Source: Collider