17 Again

The storyline was very well done and enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised at this movie. Keep an open mind and you will enjoy the movie.

Zac Efron did a really decent acting job. I honestly thought it would be High School Musical-like but it turned out to be a nice movie to watch. If he keeps up the good work and takes it to the next level, he can really be an A level quality star. Zac is no Matthew Macfadden yet but there is potential.

There are two recasts I would have done. Matthew Perry wasn't fully right for this role. He has a comedic bent but it wasn't used at all in this movie - hence a total waste and was a mismatch from a character perspective. I think John Stamos would have been better. Also Michelle Trachtenberg playing the teenager was a bit much. Trachtenberg is a solid actress but for a teenager, a different actress would have been better.

It is a very nice movie and I usually rate a movie on whether it's worth paying full price, matinée, video store, Netflix or don't bother. The movie was worth paying full price.

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")

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 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.

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...