17 otra vez

Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) was a teen basketball jock with all the potential in the world. When his girlfriend got pregnant, he abandons it all to marry her. Now they're adults, Mike (Matthew Perry) can't stop blaming all his problems on this decision. His wife Scarlet (Leslie Mann) divorces him. Then one night, a guardian angel sends Mike through a vortex and turns him back into a teen again. He decides to go back to high school to relive his high school years, but instead he reconnects with his family.

Thomas Lennon does his wacky best friend. It's basically 'Big' in reverse. The story isn't anything new or original. Zac Efron is quite funny as the fish out of water. He's surprisingly great as a compelling lead. It's his performance and his energy that drives this movie. The trick is that he's not playing a teen. He's playing mid-30s in a body of a teen.

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 went to see this with film with my teenage daughter and really wasn't expecting to enjoy it. I settled down in my seat for the duration and the first few scenes showing Efron as a high school basketball player had me groaning inwardly as I assumed that this was going to be another predictable high school/age swap film of the type that has been done so many times before - and really isn't the sort of film I would choose to see anyway. Not a promising start. However, I was pleasantly surprised by 17 Again. It was witty and well acted and made me laugh out loud - not something I often do even when I appreciate the humour in a film.

This film's appeal is also strengthened by the acting of the supporting characters as well as the main ones - Thomas Lennon's character was particularly well delivered. I found no fault with Zac Efron's acting in this and I enjoyed his performance in Hairspray but it would be interesting to see him in a serious grown up dramatic role.

In 1989, the teenager Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) is the star of the Hayden High-School. On the day of the final basketball game, Mike will be observed and may win a scholarship in college. However, his girlfriend Scarlett (Allison Miller) tells him that she is pregnant and Mike does not play the game. Twenty years later, Mike (Matthew Perry) is a complete loser that blames Scar for his failures: he is not promoted to sale manager after working sixteen years in the same company; Scarlett (Leslie Mann) is divorcing him; his teenagers son Alex (Sterling Knight) and daughter Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) hate him; and he is temporarily living with his best friend, the eccentric and immature millionaire Ned Gold (Thomas Lennon). Mike nostalgically visits Hayden where an old janitor talks to him about second chance in life. During the night, he sees the janitor jumping from a bridge into the river and he unsuccessfully tries to help the man. Mike passes out and when he wakes up, he discovers that he is seventeen again. Further, he discovers that he has a second chance to fix his relationship with his family.

"17 Again" is another good movie about second chance in life. I believe most of people in a certain age question decisions took in the past and would like to have a second chance to re-route his or her life in that milestone. The cinema makes this dream come true and certainly the story is pleasant for most of the people. In addition, the two lead stars (Zac Efron and Matthew Perry) are nice actors and the result is a nice entertainment for whole family. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "17 Outra Vez" ("17 Again")

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.