17 Again - Back to High School

I didn't think I would like this movie and yet I actually really did! First thing that makes one feel a bit reluctant about this movie is the fact that we saw this story hundreds of time. The going back in time/being a teen again stories are very popular. And yes, this one is another of them. Main reason I can't rate it is higher than 7 is because it lacks originality and it is easy to predict what happens and how it ends.

Yet, this does not ruin the movie. It has a fresh and funny dialogue and an amazing cast.

Actually I would like to apologize to Zac Effron. I never saw a movie with him before and only knew that he is loved by teenage girls. So when I started watching I was ind of resenting the idea that soon Mathew Perry, who is a funny actor, will be replaced by Zac Effron for the most of the movie. Yet, it didn't turn out as a bad thing. He is actually a very good and funny actor. Next time I see that he is in the cast, I will consider it a positive thing.

The rest of the cast was great as well, a special mentioning deserves Thomas Lennon whose character Ned made me laugh through the movie.

It is a very PG movie. I was very happy about the fact that they didn't make it too cheesy. It had its moments but for the most it is just light entertainment. I am not even the target audience, I think for the most it is appealing to teenagers or parents who miss their school days. I am neither and yet I liked it,so its a well done job.

I have to admit I am not a big fan of Zac Efron, but I saw 17 Again expecting to hate it but actually it wasn't that bad. Yes, the story is predictable, yes the pacing is uneven and yes the ending is a bit of a letdown.

However, there are a lot of redeeming merits. The soundtrack is excellent, and the script is surprisingly decent with just the right amount of quirky humour. The direction is good, while the acting is not bad at all. The characters are a little clichéd admittedly, but the actors do their best to make the most of their characters. Zac Efron gives a great performance in the lead and fits perfectly with the film's tone. Matthew Perry and Leslie Mann are both good too, but it is Efron's film all the way.

Overall, not bad actually quite enjoyable. 7/10 Bethany Cox

(Synopsis) In 1989, Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) is a high school senior and star athlete, who is heading for college on a basketball scholarship. But instead, Mike must give up his dreams, because his girlfriend Scarlett (played by Allison Miller - teenager) is pregnant. Twenty years have gone by and Mike is not living the good life. Mike must move in with his wealthy software genius nerd and best friend, Ned Freedman (Thomas Lennon), because he is separated from his wife Scarlett (played by Leslie Mann – adult). Mike has two teenage children, and he doesn't have a good relationship them either. At work, Mike has been passed over for another promotion again, because he doesn't have a college degree. Mike has hit rock bottom so he returns to his high school to reminisce his glory days. He shares his feelings with the school janitor how great things were when he was 17. On his way back to Ned's house, Mike is changed into a 17 year-old again. Mike returns to high school to finish the life he thought he should have had.

(My Comment) The story is a 'what if' story of things that could have been. We don't know how life will treat us when we go down a different path. Where would I be if I had gone to college, joined the army, or not married Scarlet? But what people don't realize is that you only have one life, and you can never go back. You must live the life you have and make it better, if you can. If you want to change the world, make a change to your world, and you change the world. Mike realizes that he hasn't been a good father or husband. He discovers why he fell in love with Scarlet in the first place, and what he has missed by not being closer to his children. Mike already had a perfect life, he just didn't appreciate it. Zac Efron does a good job of making you believe that he is the father of his two children in the scenes he has with them. The storyline is predictable, and we have seen it before, but if you want to see a feel good movie that will keep the whole family entertained throughout, this is a good movie to see. It also has a moral to the story that you don't know what you have until you lose it. (New Line Cinema, Run Time 1:42, Rated PG-13)(7/10)

This is another movie I watched with my friend who works at a movie theatre. With elements of Big and 13 Going on 30, not to mention It's a Wonderful Life and Back to the Future, 17 Again is a pretty enjoyable meshing of those movies considering the cast which has Zac Efron, Michelle Trachtenberg, Leslie Mann, Margaret Cho, Thomas Lennon, and Melora Hardin. I also recognized Matthew Perry and Nicole Sullivan. I did not realize until the cast credits that the bearded janitor at the high school was Brian Doyle-Murray, Bill's brother. Now, parts of the plot and characterizations were a little uneven but despite that there were plenty of scenes that were hilarious especially those between Lennon and Hardin. With them, I also saw a little "Big Bang Theory" vibe. Oh, and there's a little touching pro-abstinence speech here as well (though it still is acknowledged that not all teens will feel that way). All in all, despite some adult humor, 17 Again was an enjoyable comedy that should be enjoyable enough for parents and offspring alike. Oh, and one more thing: I thought the Vanilla Ice reference in the 1989 sequence didn't fit since I remember him not even emerging until the following year...

Every teen generation needs a good body swap/turn the clock back type of story and 17 again is one of those stories, Mike O'Donnell had it all. He was the star of his high schools basket ball team. He had Scarlet the most beautiful girl in the school as his girlfriend. Right before the game that could make him into a star, Scarlet tells Mike she's pregnant, Mike makes a drastic and life altering decision and runs out of the game to be with her giving up his chances of becoming a basket ball star, now 20 years later Mike's regretting it all and wishes he could do it all over again, and by some miraculous way he does.

17 again is a cool and stylish what if movie, it brings to light the question of what if you could change your life, if you could live it all over again.What would you do different? That's the question this movie propose and tells with a grand lush style that resonates with the teen population and even with the adults too, 17 again is not just some teen movie, it's a movie that even adults between the ages of 30-50 would enjoy it, my dad sure did. But this film has it's flaws and some very minor bad dialogue from Zack Efron but nothing that would hamper this films style or production, but in my honest opinion this film was very good, this movie is not Oscar worthy but it's definitely worth the price of admission.