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13 Going on 30 poster

13 Going on 30

year 2004decade 00sdirector Gary Winickgenre Romantic comedygenre Fantasy

98 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Jennifer Garner Jenna Rink
Christa B. Allen Young Jenna
Mark Ruffalo Matty Flamhaff
Sean Marquette Young Matty
Judy Greer Lucy "Tom-Tom" Wyman
Alexandra Kyle Young Lucy
Andy Serkis Richard Kneeland
Kathy Baker Beverly Rink
Phil Reeves Wayne Rink
Samuel Ball Alex Carlson
Kiersten Warren Trish Sackett
Jim Gaffigan Chris Grandy
Lynn Collins Wendy
Ashley Benson Six Chick
Brie Larson Six Chick

13 Going on 30 | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Juliet Litman
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Waking up at 30 through arriving at work

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:42Read transcript
  • The big party where the Six Chicks show up is a first pick; school cliques like an "A squad" at Bronx High School of Science and college "BPs" are recalled.
  • Jenna being mean to Beaver hurts, and seven minutes in heaven is joked to be banned in 50 states in 2026.
  • Tom Tom becoming Judy Greer is called one of the best teen-to-adult castings; Greer reportedly disagrees, and young Jenna reads as Hilary Swank to one participant, which is disputed.
  • Jenna waking up at 30 (cell phone, checking her body, the hockey player, "I'm Jenna Rink, big-time magazine editor") is great, a mission statement for Garner recalling Hanks in Big.
  • Visiting Matt requires suspension of disbelief since he doesn't react as if she were on drugs.
  • The dress-up montage uses Whitney Houston; Lips Like Sugar by Echo and the Bunnymen was reportedly planned but could not be licensed.
  • Jenna saving the party with Thriller is an iconic rom-com scene; the green modified Versace dress became a yearly Halloween costume, though her dancing starts stiff and Ruffalo drags his foot while the Gollum actor bangs it out.
  • Asked by name whether Michael Jackson's baggage complicates the scene now, the reply is no; the surprise is that everyone at a 2004 party knew the whole dance.
  • Wesley Morris wrote that watching the cast dance like ghouls made him cringe: "the amateurness isn't cute, it's scary."
  • It recalls bar mitzvahs and the Cha-Cha Slide; Arlene the secretary joining is a favorite moment.
  • The Liz Phair montage with Razzles and the Brooklyn Bridge, and Love Is a Battlefield with the nice Six Chicks, are included; one more scene of Jenna advising the 13-year-olds is wanted.
  • Jenna's class-of-2004 pitch is rewatchable as probably the worst publishing idea of all time, while Lucy's heroin-chic idea sounds pretty good.
  • Jenna and Lucy having it out, with Judy Greer lights out, is the last pick; the wedding scene is excluded and Vienna is saved for later.
  • The other pick is the first scene waking up in the apartment: the umbrella gag, the physical comedy, and the slip with the jacket as the defining look.
  • Both agree the first 25 minutes, from the closet until she gets to work, are excellent.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Surprise at a cell phone ring; Courteney Cox magazine cover; Rudy Giuliani office photo; flip phone; Liz Phair's Why Can't I; Garner's MTV Movie Awards and Teen Choice nominations

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:45Read transcript
  • An ASR-unclear item about the phone ('so many m's on the phone ... he wants a decision now') and being surprised by a cell phone ring are offered; the slip dress is called a little 1997.
  • Past magazine covers feature Courteney Cox, very 2004, and Marisa Tomei.
  • Jenna's office wall has a photo with Rudy Giuliani, from when that was just the 9/11 mayor, not a joke.
  • The flip phone, with colored screens arriving around 2002-2003, and the twice-used Liz Phair song are picks.
  • Garner's performance earning MTV Movie Awards and Teen Choice Awards nominations, possible only in a three-year vortex, is offered as a winner, but the same speaker then defers: 'I think you're right with Liz Phair.'

What’s Aged the Best?

J.Lo magazine covers; the Six Chicks; Kathy Baker as the mom; wardrobe color shifts; Billy Joel; Ruffalo's wardrobe; luxury references; New York exteriors; the pink slip dress; the 61 Fifth Avenue apartment

In the discussion (18)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:48Read transcript
  • Obviously and unquestionably the J.Lo magazine covers in a Garner movie, right as J.Lo is about to split from Ben Affleck, whom Garner is about to date.
  • Near the end Jenna takes down the J.Lo Sparkle covers; the hosts say that five months later Garner and Affleck debuted at Fenway for Game 1 of the World Series, which the speaker says they attended.
  • The hosts say the J.Lo relationship didn't go over with the fan base because she was an unabashed Yankees fan from the Bronx; showing up at the 2004 World Series with Garner, who had a 100 percent approval rating, is a Nick Hornby moment.
  • The Six Chicks as a gimmick: a group of mean girls in a rom-com has a 100 percent success rate, and the name works.
  • The Six Chicks include Brie Larson and Ashley Benson, and Brie Larson seems bumped from the yearbook photo once Jenna ascends.
  • Asked about the mechanics, the answer is that row position reflects closeness to the center of power, so the one on the periphery got pushed out. — Juliet Litman
  • Mean Girls and the Plastics arrived a week later, which is said to have hurt this movie.
  • Kathy Baker as the mom is great casting that looks like mother and daughter, with a good line about not regretting her mistakes.
  • Ariana Grande's thank u, next video homages this movie, with the dream house.
  • Wardrobe shifts to warmer colors as Jenna softens and darker as Lucy turns ruthless; Garner has reportedly worked with the costume designer, Susie, about ten times since.
  • The green Thriller dress reportedly ended up in a costume warehouse and was spotted on a Sex and the City extra, looking different.
  • Billy Joel from the mid-2000s on has aged incredibly, and the 1987 mixtapes are well done.
  • Matt's girlfriend, an attractive anchorwoman moving to Chicago, introduces the term commuter couple and belittles his vitamin-bottle photos.
  • Ruffalo's wardrobe (Adidas, CBGB shirt, well-fitted pants) and his pendant light are still in style.
  • Luxury references like St. Barts and the San Ysidro Ranch remain aspirational.
  • New York locations such as 444 Madison and 61 Fifth avoid anything gimmicky; the movie shows a sunny, crime-free New York without acknowledging 9/11.
  • The pink slip dress is something people would wear now.
  • The apartment at 61 Fifth, 7C, in Greenwich Village would rent for about $55,000 a month now; an Alec Baldwin and Hilaria sighting nearby follows.

Is There a Better Title for This Movie?

No

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:30Read transcript
  • The first answer is no.
  • Abroad, including Australia, it was called Suddenly 30, apparently because the original title wouldn't translate, despite Sound of Music's "16 Going on 17".
  • Asked by name whether Suddenly 30 is preferred, a third participant answers that 13 Going on 30 is better.
  • Another voice calls Suddenly 30 pretty good and likes it; "30 and flirty and thriving" is the line of the movie and probably the porn parody title.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

The return-to-13 ending

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:56Read transcript
  • Back at 13 with eight days of being 30, she still ends up with Matt, though redoing 17 years should change everything; it doesn't track.
  • Unlike Big, where the kid seems to remember nothing, she does appear to remember, ripping up the paper when Tom Tom returns.
  • She presumably spends high school being kind and waiting for Matt, knowing he'll look like Mark Ruffalo in 17 years.

What’s Aged the Worst?

No email or internet; the hockey player and his striptease; cheap apartment decor; Jenna's lack of curiosity about 2004; the art-department husband; the plastic-surgery line

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:20Read transcript
  • Jenna hitting on a 13-year-old boy is called really uncomfortable, while the other participant thought the punchline was great and fine as a joke.
  • It would be worse with genders swapped; she looks sexiest in that scene, and Lucy would have had her committed after it.
  • Seven minutes in heaven is called gone, with pushback that it may be consensual and better than drugs; Matt's seven-minutes joke was ahead of its time.
  • There is no email or internet in a 2004 movie.
  • The hockey stuff insults hockey players; the hosts say the 2004 Rangers went 27-40, and real hockey players are stoic, unlike Alex Carlson; the goofy striptease is the worst scene, which is agreed.
  • Jenna's apartment has cheap-looking kitchen cabinets and furniture.
  • She isn't curious enough about 2004, missing an easy Michael Jackson cover joke, unlike Elf.
  • The scene where the husband of Tracy from the art department comes in, with a line about the drawers last week, felt like it was from a different movie; it was meant to show she was an awful person but didn't work.
  • Ruffalo's character talks about the plastic-surgery movement as if it were over.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

It is not a rom-com but a teen movie; Vienna was the most underrated great pop song from 1977 to 2004

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:29:57Read transcript
  • It is not a rom-com but a teen movie: they end up together only through time travel, Jenna is 13, there is no threat to overcome, and the moral is be a nice person.
  • The response: it might not even be the hottest take, just right.
  • From 1977 to 2004 Vienna was the most underrated great pop song, among the best ever with Wonderwall, Hey Jude and I Will Always Love You, and it took 28 years for a movie to unlock it.
  • Billy Joel reportedly calls it one of his two best and credits the film's popularity with girls for its late success.
  • Vienna and Summer, Highland Falls are called his underrated great songs; the other participant came to love it via the Spotify algorithm and calls it a B-side-like song that sets the scene apart.
  • A participant's daughter sang Vienna at a fifth-grade talent show, a parenting highlight, though no other parent knew the song.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Kiersten Warren as Trish

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:05Read transcript
  • Kathy Baker is too known to count; Gollum is "clearly" offered, but the response is that he is too famous after 20 years of movies.
  • The alternative is Kiersten Warren as Trish, the frizzy-haired Sparkle editor-in-chief at the party, recognized from Saved by the Bell: The College Years; called a good one and a great call.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Arlene the assistant

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:33Read transcript
  • Young Tom Tom, the frizzy Sparkle editor and the cab driver (ASR "chris grundy" / "grandy") are offered, but it's clearly Arlene the assistant, hitting home runs and crying during the worst pitch ever.
  • Arlene is loved, especially when invited along with "aren't you coming?" and visibly touched.

Apex Mountain

Jennifer Garner as an actress; Vienna

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:08Read transcript
  • Jennifer Garner is a yes: on Alias, the movie nearly makes $100 million, and she starts dating Ben Affleck; the other agrees as an actress.
  • She is more famous and richer now, as the Capital One spokesperson who took Once Upon a Farm public, so money-making Garner may not have peaked here.
  • A participant interviewed her for a Felicity project; she did 20th-anniversary press with Judy Greer for Vogue and is called a beloved Hollywood lady.
  • Mark Ruffalo's entry is only "mark ruffalo now" (ASR), so no clear judgment is recorded.
  • Razzles: this is probably the most prominent Razzles appearance, unless the 80s.
  • For 2000s fake fashion-magazine plots, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is the bigger magazine rom-com and would be the apex; Eva Mendes in Hitch and Kate Hudson are the biggest such roles.
  • Madonna's Crazy for You: the answer is no, since it was already big from Vision Quest; Thriller is obviously mid-80s.
  • Sam Ball, who played Alex Carlson, has multiple IMDb names, a red flag; "I hope to never see him again."
  • Post-9/11 feel-good New York movies: this is in the running, but Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 (and 25th Hour) are up there.
  • Judy Greer: no; Descendants is a better performance, and she is a reliable second banana.
  • Rom-com characters cruelly breaking up a wedding: My Best Friend's Wedding, A Lot Like Love or this; it has to be Julia Roberts.
  • Vienna reached Apex Mountain here, completely rejuvenated and finally getting its acclaim after 27 years; agreed.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Remake

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:56:01Read transcript
  • A listener email expands the choices to sequel, prequel, streamer, all-Black cast, spin-off, remake or untouchable.
  • The answer is remake, ironically: the hosts say Netflix announced in March 2026 a remake directed by Brett Haley starring Emily Bader and Logan Lerman, with Garner and Greer spotted doing cameos and Garner possibly an EP.
  • Odds: 30 percent it's good, 70 percent disappointing, and 100 percent a wife and daughter watch and love it.
  • It is surprising it wasn't already a one-season streaming show; it would be an Amazon YA show needing more sexual content.
  • A hypothetical version has her turn 30 as a male hockey player, a Heated Rivalry take.

Is This Movie Better With…?

No

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:58:25Read transcript
  • With about four to six people in the movie, the answer is no; the small cast is fine.
  • Kirk Herbstreit is wanted on the director's commentary during the magazine pitch.

Just One Oscar

Costumes and wardrobe

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:59:23Read transcript
  • The soundtrack is raised, but there is only an original-song Oscar; a compiled soundtrack should get an Oscar or Grammy.
  • Definitely the costumes and wardrobe, credited on air to Susie DeSanto, the reason the movie transcended culture.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Nanette Lepore jacket

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 02:01:18Read transcript
  • It's either the dollhouse or the dress.
  • The jacket she wears over the slip dress on her first day at work, a Nanette Lepore, is the pick; the Thriller dress would make the most money on eBay in 2010.
  • Definitely the jacket; Lili Reinhart reportedly borrowed one from the designer for a press tour.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

"Those aren't real people, honey. Those are models."

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 02:01:47Read transcript
  • Offered: "I don't want to be original, I want to be cool" as a bad lesson, "you can't just turn back time" as profound, or "slow down you crazy child."
  • Kathy Baker's "those aren't real people, honey, those are models" is offered and accepted as one of them.