In 13 Going on 30, thirteen-year-old Jenna Rink wishes to be 30.
Jennifer Garner plays the adult Jenna after a magical birthday wish transports her from 1987 to 2004. Jenna wakes up in the body of her 30-year-old self, with a successful magazine career and an apartment in New York City, but without memories of the intervening years.
The film uses the fantasy premise to explore adulthood, friendship, and the consequences of choices made during adolescence. Mark Ruffalo plays Matt Flamhaff, Jenna’s childhood friend, whose place in her life becomes important as she tries to understand what happened.
Gary Winick directed the 2004 film, written by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa. Its title combines Jenna’s starting age with the age she imagines as the ideal adult life, making the number central to the story.