 | STARRING: Zac Efron, Michelle Trachtenberg |
17 Again doesn’t do the body switch, but instead tries to follow in the footsteps of Big. In Big, we had a child whose wish to be “big” was magically granted. In 17 Again, we have the adult Mike O’Donnel having his wish to relive his high school days magically granted by a mysterious janitor. Mike is going through a divorce, is turned down for a promotion, & can’t get along with his two kids. As a high school senior he was a basketball star on his way to college who gave it all up to marry his pregnant girlfriend. He thought that if only he left the girlfriend behind and went to college, his life would be perfect now. Mike's wish is granted by the janitor, and he is 17 once again but in the present day. He enrolls back in his old high school that his kids now attend. His geeky best friend Ned is the only one who knows what has happened and poses as his father. As a 17 year old, Mike attempts to befriend his kids and seduce his soon to be ex-wife. To break the spell and become an adult again Mike must accomplish something, but it’s up to him to figure out what.
The comedy mostly falls flat, as we get the predictable bits of Mike being a “fish out of water”, dressing wrong and trying to adjust to high school. We have the stereotypical bully, who torments the nerds, including Mike’s son, and is dating Mike’s daughter. The scenes of Mike seducing his wife struck me as more creepy than funny. The only parts that made me laugh involved a sub-plot of his friend Ned’s awkward attempts to date the school principal. She only agrees to go out with him when he donates laptops to the school, but they quickly find out they share an unhealthy passion for Lord of The Rings. On a side note, scenes of Ned’s house filled with Star Wars memorabilia were actually filmed at George Lucas’ Skywalker ranch.
17 Again is a very family friendly comedy, piling on messages about sexual abstinence and the importance of family. It gets way too sappy at the end. The movie wasn’t exactly the body switching film I expected but it was still more of the same forgettable silliness. A movie like Big is so good that you can completely suspend your disbelief throught the entire film. 17 Again is no Big. You can wait for cable to watch this one. At the screening, I was shocked that the audience applauded at the end. So maybe my opinion is in the minority, but I suspect they were just happy they didn’t have to pay money to see it.
