The Parent Trap: 10 Things That Make No Sense About The Movie
The Parent Trap is hands down a Disney classic, starting with the 1961 original, and of course once again becoming a hit with the 1998 remake. In the 1998 version, one of Lindsay Lohan's best movies, Meredith is the villain, and Annie and Hallie are the clever twins set on reuniting their parents.
While the film included several sweet moments, such as Nick and Hallie hopping on a plane to chase after Elizabeth and Annie, the film also contains certain elements that don't make much sense. Why Nick was oblivious to the obvious differences in Hallie when she returned from camp, as well as the fact that there wasn't more tension or questions from the girls in regards as to why their parents chose the arrangement they did still remains a mystery. The fact that old wounds weren't properly addressed or the fact that the camp counselors weren't more clued into the girls' pranks is also a wonder.
When Annie pleads with her sister to get their mother to California as soon as possible to help stop Meredith, Hallie outright refuses and selfishly declares she wants more time with their mother and to handle it herself. Annie certainly wanted more time with her dad but came up against a true Disney villain in the form of Meredith; instead of feeling cheated out of time with her dad, she tried to make the best of it and simultaneously sabotage Meredith, which wasn't easy on her own.
Hallie's refusal to initially help was quite cold and brutal to do to her sister, and it's a wonder why she wouldn't jump at the opportunity to go home, considering Meredith was a big problem in their plans to reunite their parents.
Hallie and Nick are very close as father and daughter, yet Nick failed to realize the significant changes in Hallie, who was really Annie pretending to be her sister. Annie slipped up a few times given her difference in appetite and she yelled at her father in French, which should've been red flags, but only Chessy picked up on these instances.
Even when Chessy had an emotional reaction to discovering Hallie was really Annie, Nick was oblivious, and this should've clued him into the fact that something was going on at least, and his lack of observational skills certainly didn't make sense, even if he was preoccupied with Meredith.
The Parent Trap is a great movie to watch if you love the '90s, and with that comes plenty of physical comedy and slapstick humor. As audiences know, Annie and Halle didn't get off on the right foot when they met. They played pranks on each other, each prank gradually upping the ante and getting more vicious, until it landed the two girls in major trouble and they wound up stuck in a cabin on their own together separated from everyone else.
What doesn't make sense about all these pranks is the fact that they weren't caught sooner, for one. Viewers are left wondering how the could camp counselors didn't notice furniture on the roof - or witness the girls putting it there - as well as how could they miss the girls with their flashlights setting up their pranks in Annie's cabin in the dead of night. Granted they have a lot of kids to keep track of, but considering the pranks at hand, something should've caught their attention.
While The Parent Trap is one of the best feel-good movies of the '90s, it does have its darker moments. It's understandable that Elizabeth was nervous given she was seeing her ex for the first time in years, and would be faced with confronting her past not just through him, but also in the fact that she had left behind one of her daughters as well. However, she took the wrong approach to deal with her stress as she went a little overboard with the alcohol and was definitely not with it when she arrived in the States.
It doesn't set a good example for her daughters on how to deal with stress, and given she was not an avid drinker, it wasn't a good idea for her own health either. It doesn't make sense that she would make a hard day harder for herself in that respect, as not only was she stressed, but she was also hungover.
Chessy and Martin were just as sneaky as Hallie and Annie in several respects considering a lot of the girls' scheme was able to happen thanks to help from the two adults. Outside of the movies, Chessy and Martin probably would've been in trouble with their employers considering they were helping the children arrange a reunion and not telling them what was going on from moment one.
In some ways, Nick and Elizabeth could've considered their actions a betrayal of their trust. While Chessy and Martin had good intentions, it doesn't make sense that, given all their years of service to Nick and Elizabeth, they didn't even give the two a heads-up.
While Meredith's character was certainly integral to the overall plot, it doesn't mean her actions make sense. Trying to take all of Nick's attention and go after his fortune, and obviously not caring for Annie or Hallie (even resorting to threats and trying to ensure boarding school was in their future) from the very start was not only a bad idea but an awful thing to do.
In a sense, Meredith was lucky that Annie didn't immediately tell her father how Meredith was treating her. Meredith really should have realized that treating his daughter badly would be a red flag. Plus, it makes no sense for her to think that, after showing her true colors on that disastrous camping trip, Nick would pick her over his daughters, especially when she was threatening to send them to Switzerland. For wanting to impress Nick, Meredith did a lot to sabotage herself.
Elizabeth should've known better than to trust that Hallie would actually call and tell Nick that they were coming to the States. Considering Hallie had already tricked her into thinking she was Annie, audiences would think that Elizabeth would hold less trust in Hallie and would've called Nick herself to ensure everything was set and ready for their meeting.
Considering everything, she shouldn't have been so surprised at the fact that Nick was shocked to see her. The fact that Elizabeth didn't reach out herself and still trusted Hallie so much despite Hallie deceiving her is an aspect of the film that doesn't make much sense.
Meredith had been pushed to her limits given the lizard, being eaten alive by mosquitoes, and finding herself afloat the next morning on that dreadful camping trip. However, her ultimatum to Nick to choose either her or the girls, especially when she was screaming and threatening to ship the girls to Switzerland, definitely didn't make sense.
It's interesting to think that she was so confident that he would choose her over his own children, especially when it was obvious that the only person she cared about was herself.
That scene in the wine cellar where Nick and Elizabeth reconnected once more was bittersweet, and audiences definitely hated it when the headlights broke the moment between the two and they went their separate ways.
While Nick later did go after Elizabeth, this scene still doesn't make sense in the respect that they had another perfect opportunity to be together again, and they didn't take it. It's heartbreaking because audiences can see Nick and Elizabeth were truly meant to be, and they're certainly a memorable Disney couple!
Because The Parent Trap is a feel-good '90s movie, there were some serious topics that weren't exactly addressed as they would be in real life. Regardless of the reunion, Elizabeth and Nick each missed years of their other child's life, and they would need to catch up and acknowledge that. Plus, they would need to address their big mistake in that they never allowed the sisters to meet or even know about each other before, as well as the fact that the daughter each parent raised never got to know her other parent.
Though it was addressed that the arrangement was a bad one and that the girls were sad at not having known their sister or other parent for most of their lives, it was a topic that wasn't properly delved into, and it doesn't make sense that there wasn't more discussion revolving around old wounds.