Familiar 17 Again a Fun Fantasy
It’s been seventeen years since Mike O’Donnell (Matthew Perry) gave up the chance to be a college basketball star and marry his then pregnant girlfriend Scarlett (Leslie Mann). Since then thanks to his constant whining the once loving pair has grown more and more apart, even their children Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight) wanting nothing to do with him.
Zac Efron in New Line Cinemas' 17 Again
On a trip back to his old High School stomping grounds Mike makes a wish he could go back and do it all over again, sure he’d be able to do everything better now with all this bittersweet knowledge tucked away in his brainpan. But just because you fantasize about it doesn’t mean stuff like that’s going to happen, magic only a fictional mirage this world of absolute certainty just doesn’t stand for.
Or does it? After a bizarre evening trapped in a rainstorm a suddenly youthful Mike (Zac Efron) discovers he’s 17-years-old again, both he and his geeky best friend Ned (Thomas Lennon) wondering how and the heck something like this happened. Now back in High School, the thirty-something teenage stud muffin must figure out why fate has allowed him this second chance, clandestinely helping out Maggie, Alex and Scarlett deal with their issues as he tries to come to grips with his own.
There is no reason whatsoever that I should have enjoyed 17 Again. I can hardly think of more tired and played out storyline than this one, the saga of an adult getting a second chance at youth (and vice-versa) one we’ve seen entirely too many times before.
Maybe I’m losing my grip but be that as it may I had more or less a ball watching this genial comedy all the same. Cliché and obvious allusions to Big, 18 Again, Peggy Sue Got Married, 13 Going on 30, Freaky Friday and countless television Movies of the Week aside, Jason Filardi’s (Bringing Down the House) economical screenplay and Burr Steers’ (Igby Goes Down) solidly fluid direction going a long way to keep me happily entertained.
Of course, the draw for most people here will be the presence of High School Musical heartthrob Efron and I’m happy to say he does not disappoint. The young actor lifts the film upon his shoulders and energetically carries it across the finish line with charming panache. He shows a great deal of charisma here, his comic timing mixed with his bewitching ability to flash a magnetic smile recalling to mind similar above the title debuts like Tom Cruise’s in Risky Business or Heath Ledger’s in 10 Things I Hate About You.
Whether he reaches any of the same heights as they both did is left to be seen, but for right now I can’t help but feel the guy’s fans are going to remain so while those undecided (or uncaring) might just become ones themselves after watching this. Say what you will about his Disney grooming, this guy’s got the goods, and as much as I’d have pooh-poohed such statements before after 17 Again call me one of the converted.
Not everything can be overcome. The air of déjà vu hovering over the film is tough to shake, while the less said about subplots involving Maggie and her Neanderthal boyfriend and Ned’s Tolkien-inspired attempts to woo the High School’s principal are probably for the better. I also wouldn’t buy Efron and Perry (who arguably hasn’t been this at ease in front of the camera since “Friends” came to an end) as members of the same family let alone one and the same person, as uncomfortable a problem considering the plot as any I could probably have thought of.
Yet none of this takes away from just how easily 17 Again goes down. The film is an intoxicating blend of comedy and fantasy that’s really difficult to dislike. It’s a trifle, sure, but there’s nothing wrong with that when it’s this much darn fun, and whether you’re a teenager taking your driver’s license test or a card carrying member of the AARP waiting for a morning tee time this is one excursion everyone can agree on.
Film Rating: êêê (out of 4)
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