17 Again Movie Review

This weekend I saw 17 Again and Battle for Terra courtesy of our wonderful free Friends and Family Movie Pass. So I thought I'd try my hand at my first solo movie review. Please bear with me as I'm new at doing this on my own and I'm sure it won't be near as good as my husband's reviews. I'll just review 17 Again, since I didn't care much for Battle for Terra and have no idea how to summarize it.


I was happily surprised by this "It's a Wonderful Life" inspired comedy. While it does have many similarities to films like "It's a Wonderful Life", "Big", and "13 Going on 30", I felt that it set itself apart with a fresh take on the idea of reliving your life and rediscovering the things that are truly important to you.

The basic plot is similar to those that have come before; the main character, Mike O'Donnell (played as a 37 year old by Matthew Perry and as a 17 year old by Zac Efron) is unhappy with his life. In his high school years, he was on top of the world- star of the basketball team, on the cusp of receiving a full ride scholarship to Syracuse, and dating the prettiest girl in school. But all this comes unraveled when his girlfriend, Scarlett (played by Leslie Mann) tells him that she's pregnant. Mike then quits basketball, marries her, and they start their family. Fast forward twenty years- Mike is dissatisfied with his job, his kids aren't interested in having a relationship with him, and as a result of blaming his wife for his lot in life, she's kicked him out of the house and filed for divorce. After running into a strange old janitor at his old high school (kinda like good old Clarence of IAWL) he confesses his desire to "go back and do it all over". Later, he sees the janitor jump off a bridge (also like IAWL), jumps in after him into some kind of wormhole and, bippidy boppidy boo, he's 17 again (hey, that's the title of the movie!).

Mike enrolls in high school, convinced that he has been given this chance so that he can relive his senior year, minus the baggage of a pregnant girlfriend, and finally get his scholarship and go to college, thus righting all he thinks is wrong in his life. He soon finds out though, that his son is a bully punching bag, and his daughter is dating the biggest jerk in school (and the one bullying her brother). He then realizes that more important than changing his own future is helping his kids, reestablishing his relationship with them, and hopefully saving his marriage.

As I said, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I thought it would be good for a couple laughs, but would also be corny and a bit sappy. It was a LOT funnier than I thought it would be, especially when it came to Mike's nerdy best friend, Ned (played hilariously by Thomas Lennon) and his crush on the school's principal, played by The Office's Malora Hardin. As a parent, I, of course, found the main character's devotion to his kids very sweet and genuine and was mentally cheering when he tried to beat up the boy who broke his little girl's heart.



So, in conclusion, I would recommend seeing 17 Again. Don't expect any Oscar-winning performances or anything, but it's good for a few laughs and the occasional "Awww".