Movie Review: 17 Again

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Enjoyable storyline with good acting

Cons: Predictable story; sexual humor

The Bottom Line:

Funny fantasy

Mostly light, enjoyable

Met expectations

If You Can Believe that Zac Efron Becomes Matthew Perry, You'll Enjoy 17 Again

Age changing comedies are nothing new.  I could name a half dozen movies with a similar theme without even thinking about it.  I always find them enjoyable, so I put 17 Again on my list of movies to see when I heard about it.  The previews and rating made me question whether I would enjoy it or not, but for the most part, I did.

Life has not gone well for Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry).  His wife Scarlett (Leslie Mann) has kicked him out.  His kids, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight) want nothing to do with him.

When he tells the janitor at the high school he'd love to go back and do it all again, he suddenly finds himself back in his 17 year old body (now played by Zac Efron).  Getting his best friend Ned (Thomas Lennon) to claim to be his father, he enrolls in high school.  But why has Mike become 17 again?  Can he solve all his problems with a second chance?

When I first heard about the casting, I did have to question it.  Zac Efron and Matthew Perry?  Seriously?  There's even a scene where Mike is pretending to be his older self over the phone.  To my ear they look and sound nothing alike.  But I'm just being too logical here.  I mean, given the fantasy premise, this really is a minor point.

From the previews, I had a good idea of where the story was going, and it is indeed predictable.  However, I do have to give the preview credit.  Most of the scenes in the previews are in the first half.  While they arguably give away too much, there are plenty of surprises and laughs along the way.

I was pleasantly surprised at how funny I found things.  I wasn't sure if this movie would fall into the awkward humor I don't enjoy or be funny.  Yes, there was plenty of the awkward humor, but it was light hearted enough I was able to laugh while cringing.

But the best laughs came from Ned's character.  He's an over the top geek reveling in his geekiness.  I couldn't stop laughing at him.

The acting was pretty decent as well.  Most of the movie didn't require much depth, so it didn't challenge the cast too much.  But considering it is a light hearted comedy, that's fine.  However, when the movie calls for depth, the cast delivered.  I was especially impressed with Zac in several of his more heart felt scenes.  As much as I have enjoyed him before, he's a better actor than I gave him credit for.  I was nice to see Michelle Trachtenberg in something again, and she did a great job as always.  But Thomas Lennon was perfect as Ned.  He played every geeky moment to its hilt.

As I suspected from the PG-13 rating, there is plenty of sexual humor over the course of the film.  I did find myself laughing at parts of it despite myself, but other times I found it more squirm inducing than funny.  Parents will definitely want to think about it before they let their pre-teens and teens see it.

Honestly, I think the movie could have been just as funny and more enjoyable for me without the sexual humor.  That was the biggest thing that kept me from fully enjoying the movie.  Still, 17 Again is an entertaining, light movie.