17 Again tells the kind of story you’ve seen before in movies like Big (boy in the body of an adult) and Switch (man in the body of a woman. In this movie it’s about a man who ends up in his own 17-year old body. When Mike O’Donnell (Matthew Perry) was young he made the choice to follow his big love instead on focusing on sports. His choice hasn’t turned out as he had in mind though. His wife Scarlett (Leslie Mann) wants a divorce and he doesn’t have a close relationship with his children either. When he visits his old high school he wishes that he had made a different choice. It turns out that the janitor can make his with come true.
Mike wakes up the next morning and is 17 again (a role played by Zac Effron) and has to go to school again. He tells his best friend, Ned Freedman (Thomas Lennon) his secret and he pretends that he is the father of him to make sure Mike can go back to school. With his knowledge as an adult it turns out that it is quite difficult to live a carefree life.
His own children have the same school and Mike just can’t hold back and ends up befriending them so he can get to know more about them. He finds out that his son is bullied by the captain of the basketball team and that his daughter is dating the bully. His parental feelings crop up and he decides to get into action for both of them. Because of this he becomes of the most popular guys in school. He goes home with his son, which allows him to spend some time with his wife, which results in some very strange situations.
17 Again isn’t very special, but it is enjoyable. His best friend who pretends that he’s his father tries to date the principal, which results in hilarious situations (which I thought were the best parts of the movie). Zac Efron plays the same role as he did in the High School Musical movies.
When you don’t have any high expectations for this movie, you will be able to enjoy it. Don’t expect a masterpiece in filmmaking, but an innocent movie made teenagers.
Score: 6
More amusing than it is hilarious. Efron really does prove he can be a huge star, it’s just a shame that he still gets crap for his High School Musical days.
It’s probably something that will keep following him. He was pretty good I guess, but I must admit having watched HSM as well, you automatically start comparing it to that.
I love this movie…but your right about how common the plot is hollywood makes these kinds of movies over and over again. but i still love them hahaha
I don’t mind watching them once in a while, even though they are very predictable.