17 Again

Rating: 4/5

Though predictable and a little silly at times, 17 Again is fun and overall very entertaining.

Once, Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry), was the high school basketball star with a bright future ahead of him. That all changed when he learned his girlfriend was pregnant and decided to get married instead of go for a basketball scholarship. Now, Mike is 37 years old, and disappointed with his current state of life. His wife Scarlett (Leslie Mann) has kicked him out of the house, his two kids don't want anything to do with him, he was just fired from his job, and he's having to live with his high school best friend Ned (Thomas Lennon).

While picking his kids up from school, Mike sees a photo of himself from 1989 in the school's trophy case. Wishing that he could go back to that time, he is approached by a mysterious janitor. While on his way back home, Mike sees the same janitor getting ready to jump off a bridge. In an effort to save him, Mike accidentally falls off of the ledge. The next morning when he wakes up, Mike (Zac Efron) sees that he is now 17 years old. With the help of Ned, Mike sets out to discover why he has aged backwards and also how he can change his life in the process.

If you can look passed the fact that Matthew Perry and Zac Efron look nothing alike, 17 Again is actually quite a decent movie. It is definitely targeted towards a teenaged audience, but that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed by older viewers, especially if you can wait out the hokey first fifteen minutes of the film. What saves this movie from being completely inaccessible to anyone over the age of twenty, is the comical and well acted performances of its' leads, and the innovative struggles Mike faces throughout the movie.

At this point and time, Zac Efron was still widely known for his work in the High School Musical films. This movie not only showed that he was a talented performer, but that he could be humorous, heartwarming, and not just an attractive Disney Channel actor. He is without a doubt the main reason 17 Again is as enjoyable as it is, and had the lead been given to another actor, it is doubtful the movie would have worked as well.

When a movie has a plot where a character is suddenly given a new power or has been transformed into a different type of being, there is always going to be establishing scenes where the character is excited and shocked by this new development. What I love about 17 Again, is that it doesn't overdo this concept. There is only about ten minutes in the film where Mike is taking in the fact that he is now seventeen, and after that time, it becomes an idea that he quickly accepts. Of course, these types of scenes are necessary to the overall plot, but when they go on for too long, it gets repetitive and sometimes, rather annoying. 17 Again definitely saves itself from that fate, and is a much better film because of it.

I remember seeing this movie as a teenager and being surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Even though I am years beyond the time I first saw 17 Again, I still find it just as likable as I did then. Of course, now that I am older, I do pick up on some of the cheesiness that I would have overlooked when I was younger. Even so, 17 Again is an easygoing and amusing film to sit down and watch, not matter what your age may be.