"17 Again" review
by Mike DiGiorgio, Writer

            If you could go back and do it all over again, would you?  Of course, you would.  You already knew the answer – it’s not exactly the most original question.  It’s also not exactly the most original idea for a movie either, but Hollywood is “doing it all over again” with 17 Again.

            The “adult living inside teenaged body” idea is used almost as much as the “three ghosts visit a guy to show him the error of his ways” idea (Matthew McConaughey is coming right around the bend with another one of those).  But to be fair, “Hollywood” is not one big entity responsible for every movie – it’s a number of competing studios trying to outdo each other.  Back in the 80s, there was a quick succession of movies about men trapped in boys’ bodies, and if we’d written them all off, we never would have gone to see the last one in that set – Big. 

            And to continue to be fair, every movie like this is somebody’s first movie like this.  How you feel about it could depend on whether you’re closer in age to the teenage Mike O’Donnell (Zac Efron) or the adult Mike O’Donnell (Matthew Perry).  I suspect the biggest fans of this movie will even be a bit younger than the teenage Mike and will be girls  (as Zac Efron himself said this week hosting Saturday Night Live: “If you know who I am, thanks for staying up late.”).

            In 17 Again, the adult Mike is going through a divorce and in an It’s A Wonderful Life-kind of way, wishes he could do it all over again.  He gets his wish -- he’s suddenly back in his 17 year old body.  He goes back to school to start over, but since he finds his kids are now his classmates he finds another more important mission:  help his kids get on good footing for their adult lives.  That means helping his nerdy son develop some confidence and helping his somewhat trampy daughter develop better taste in men.  They’re channeling Back To The Future here too, but again, maybe the young audience doesn’t know that.

            17 Again is entirely a star vehicle for Efron – Perry is barely in it.  And he does a good job.  Sadly, his core fans may not even know who Matthew Perry is, but those who do will notice Efron does a very good Matthew Perry impression.  There are some chuckles when he starts lecturing his kids and sounds like a young Chandler Bing.  Adults who watched Friends may actually identify with him in those moments – they won’t believe Chandler could be old enough to be the father of a teenager and will pause and think about their own places in life.  There are some OK life lessons for both age groups.

            Will you want your kids to get that lecture?  The end message is probably a pretty good one, but be warned if you only know Efron from High School Musical.   Mike got married young because he found himself in a Bristol Palin situation, which maybe wasn’t necessary to the movie.  The movie has a safe sex lecture with visual aids, and it makes use of slang terms for genitalia and female hygiene products.  It doesn’t go overboard with them, but they may surprise you.

            This adult critic is deducting points for lack of originality, but also for poor math and attention to detail.   They establish that Mike quit school and got married in 1989.  The movie takes place 20 years later.  But his kids are obviously younger than 19 or 20.  Also, I have to point out that “1989 Mike” gets called “Vanilla Ice” after a dance routine, but Vanilla Ice wasn’t a hit until 1990.  If you’re going to make fun of those geeky elders, please get it right so you don’t offend them.

            The creators of 17 Again do mostly get things right, but then again, the template for this movie was already laid out for them.  Heck, in 1988, the character of Young Mike might have taken his future wife to a movie called 18 Again (look it up, it’s real).  So, if you saw 18 Again and go to 17 Again, then you’re seeing 18 Again again.  But if you’re seeing 17 Again with young eyes, you may be entertained.