13 Going On 30 is a sweet yet slight confection about a girl who yearns to grow up, then gets her wish in one of those magical twists of fate that only happen in the movies.

Thirteen-year-old Jenna Rink (Christa B Allen) can't wait to cross the threshold into womanhood.

Suffocated by her strait-laced parents (Kathy Baker, Phil Reeves), who simply cannot understand her angst, and shunned by the cool kids in school, Jenna makes an earnest wish to grow up as fast as possible.

One morning, Jenna wakes to find herself transported to 2004 and into the body of her 30-year-old future self.

The new Jenna (Jennifer Garner) turns out to be a gorgeous and successful woman with a key job on Poise style magazine.

She has a luxurious Fifth Avenue apartment and is dating hunky professional hockey star Alex Carlson (Samuel Ball).

It's a perfect life... except Jenna is now a 13-year-old girl impersonating a grown-up.

She has no idea how to do her job and her fashion sense is 17 years out of date.

Emotionally adrift, Jenna seeks out her old high school pal Matt Flamhaff, who has blossomed from a geek (Sean Marquette) into a handsome photographer (Mark Ruffalo).

The attraction is immediate.

Directed with a light touch by Gary Winick, 13 Going On 30 is Big with lipstick and heels.

Like Tom Hanks in that film, Garner is lovable and goofy with bundles of natural charm, like when she sparks a disastrous work party to life by recreating the dance routine from Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Unfortunately, screenwriters Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa don't make the most of the fish out of water set-up: Jenna adapts remarkably well to adult life, with little in the way of tears or frustration.

The fairy-tale ending is horribly rushed but the soundtrack fizzes to retro hits from the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna and Pat Benatar.