17 Again

I think it's pretty safe to say that Hollywood has used and exploited just about all the possibilities when it comes to body swapping comedies. So, it's no surprise that 17 Again often plays like a retread of old ideas from similar films like Big, Freaky Friday, and countless others. And yet, as I always say, an old idea can still work if it's done well enough. The movie doesn't quite work well enough for me to give it a full recommendation, but I smiled more than I expected, and it features a surprisingly likable lead performance from rising young actor, Zac Efron, who proves here that there may be a life after the Disney corporate machine.

He brings a certain quiet charm and low key humor to the role of Mike O'Donnell, whom we first meet as a rising young high school basketball star in 1989. It's the night of the big game, talent scouts are in the audience keeping an eye on his performance, and he gives it all up when his girlfriend announces right before the game that she's pregnant. Flash forward 20 years later to the present, and the now 37-year-old Mike O'Donnell (now played by Matthew Perry) is your typical comic loser. Before I dig too deep into Mike's problems, let's do a little experiment. Look up a photo of both Zac Efron and Matthew Perry. Do these two even look like they could be the same person? It's a hurdle the movie never quite recovers from. We never buy the movie's suggestion, so it's fortunate that Perry's screentime is limited, and this is mainly a star vehicle for Efron. But still, you'd think the casting department could have done a little bit better of a job.

Back to the plot: We learn that Mike married his pregnant girlfriend Scarlet (played in the present by Leslie Mann) after high school, and things have been going downhill since then. It's bad enough that his relationship with his wife has soured so bad that she's not only seeking a divorce, but has kicked him out of their home, forcing Mike to live with his nerdy best friend, Ned (Thomas Lennon). As if that weren't enough, his two teenage kids Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight) barely acknowledge his existence. All this, and the poor guy got passed over for the promotion at his job he was certain to get. Is it any wonder Mike wonders if his life would be any different and possibly better if he had finished that fateful high school basketball game? His question is heard by a mysterious and mystical high school janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray), who kind of resembles Santa Claus and apparently lives for letting people relive their glory days. Through a magical occurence, Mike is transformed into his former 17-year-old self.

Even though Mike has gotten younger, he remains in the present. So, Ned has to pass as his father, and Mike now finds himself in the same classes as his two kids, where he finds out more about them than he ever did as a real father to them, making him realize how little he was there for them when they needed him. He's also horrified to learn that his son is the frequent target of bullies, and that his daughter is also dating the head of the bullies and is considering giving up her college dreams to go live with him after high school is over. It's all stuff we've seen before, but the light comic screenplay by Jason Filardi (Bringing Down the House) makes it all go down easy enough. Yet, the screenplay still feels somewhat undercooked, as if the ideas weren't fleshed out as much as they should be. We know that Mike's son, Alex, will become friends with the teenage Mike, not realizing who he is, and take him home to see his mom. Scarlet notices how much her son's new friend resembles her ex-husband as a teenager, and the two build a very shy and strained relationship, but not enough is done with it. We don't get enough of what Mike must be feeling every time he's around the woman he was once married to and still loves, but obviously can't say or do anything. Likewise, a Back to the Future-like subplot where Mike's own daughter develops a crush on the teenage Mike seems to come out of nowhere, and isn't given enough time to reach its potential.

What helps carry the film is an appropriately breezy tone (the movie is about 100 minutes, but felt shorter than some 80 minute movies I've seen), and a bright and energetic cast that give the material more life than it probably deserves. Efron proves here he's got some charisma and screen presence behind those looks that are currently driving "tween" girls wild. (The fact that he's not wearing a shirt the first time we see him proves that the movie at least knows its audience.) He displays a quiet and sincere comic tone here that could benefit him in more adult roles. The other main stand out is Thomas Lennon, who gets the biggest laughs as Mike's best friend. His character, Ned, is a grown up nerd who uses his wealth from writing computer software to fill his house top-to-bottom with sci-fi, comic book, and fantasy memorabilia. His character could have easily been annoying, especially when he starts awkwardly trying to romance the high school principal (Melora Hardin), but it all pays off with a very funny dinner date scene, and Lennon knows how to reign his character in enough so that he remains funny instead of obnoxious.

17 Again is a little too slight to be memorable, but it's perfectly harmless, is well-acted, and never offends. Unlike last weekend's Hannah Montana movie (another movie I described as harmless and inoffensive), this at least seemed to have a tiny bit of thought put to it, which makes it the superior movie for those looking for fun, light entertainment. I can't fully recommend it, because I wanted a few more laughs and maybe a little more depth. (A less abrupt ending would be nice, as well.) Still, I must admit, I liked this more than I expected.

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