In a twist of events, the villain from The Parent Trap may not be the film’s antagonist after all.
On 21 July, actress Elaine Hendrix celebrated the 24th anniversary of the 1998 release of The Parent Trap when she posted a TikTok joining in on the viral “He’s a 10 but…” challenge. In the video, Hendrix – who played gold digger Meredith Blake in the movie – poured herself a large glass of red wine as she recalled the events of the film from her character’s perspective.
“He’s a 10 but…” the onscreen text reads as Hendrix enjoys the oversized glass of wine. “He had twins he secretly separated at birth when he broke up with their mother and didn’t tell you about it until the twins discovered each other at camp and swapped places to try and get their parents back together.”
“And you not so accidentally run into all of them at the same hotel right before your wedding, so you go on a camping trip to get to know one another, but you’re not a nature girl and the twins know it,” the text continued.
“So the little brats put rocks in your backpack, a lizard on your head, sugar water in your mosquito repellent, and push your air mattress into the lake while you’re sleeping,” she said. “So you lose your sh*t, threaten to ship them to Switzerland and throw a ring at his head. And you’ve never looked back.”
In the caption, the 51-year-old actor wrote: “Happy 24th Anniversary.”
Fans of the Disney remake of The Parent Trap, which also stars a young Lindsay Lohan, will recall that Meredith Blake is a 24-year-old publicist who was hired by the twins’ divorced father Nick Parker to promote his California vineyard. The two spark a relationship, but viewers find out early on that Meredith Blake is only with him for his wealth. Twins Annie and Hallie (both played by Lohan) quickly catch on to her plan, and hatch a scheme to break them up and get their parents back together.
Ever since Elaine Hendrix shared the TikTok over the weekend, her video has gone viral with more than five million views and over 1.2m likes. Fans of the classic film applauded Hendrix for her re-telling of The Parent Trap from Meredith Blake’s POV, and she even managed to convince some people that her character was indeed not the villain.
“Growing up is realising Meredith Blake was a victim of circumstance not a villain,” one person commented.
“Justice for Meredith Blake,” said someone else. “She was a successful woman who fell for a hot wine dad who lied about his family and was still in love with his ex”.
“When you put it that way…I’m kinda sympathetic to her now,” a third user wrote.
“You won. You have won this entire trend. It’s over now. Lemme throw my shoe!” another fan commented.
Hendrix herself even responded to a comment with the hashtag: #justiceformeredithblake.
Some eagle-eyed fans even noticed that the wine bottle featured in Hendrix’s TikTok video had a label that read “Parkers”.
“Plot twist: the wine is from his vineyard,” said one sleuth.
In July 2020, the cast of The Parent Trap reunited for the first time to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the movie’s release. Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Elaine Hendrix, Lisa Ann Walter, Simon Kunz, and director Nancy Meyers participated in the virtual reunion. It was hosted by journalist Katie Couric and shared on her Instagram page.
During the reunion, Hendrix discussed the resurgence and redemption of Meredith Blake. “At the time, yes, she was a nightmare. But, Meredith has really come around now. Like, there’s a whole generation who thinks Meredith is like, #goals.”
“There was this online campaign, #justiceformeredithblake, and I'm like, 'Right on, yes! Meredith is getting her due,’” she said.
The cast and crew reminisced on the movie and highlights from their time on set, as well as paid tribute to the late Natasha Richardson. Richardson, who played the mother of Lohan’s character in The Parent Trap, died in a skiing accident in 2009.
