Thursday, 07 May 2009 01:00 | and posted in Movie Reviews
Ever wished you could go back to being 17 again? If I wasn’t already 17, I think I would. It’s exactly what Mike O’Donnell wishes. At 17 he was in line for an amazing scholarship, had a wonderful girlfriend and was popular at school. Now Mike finds himself living with his nerd best friend instead of his wife, his career is stationary and his kids ignore him. Luckily for Mike a chance meeting with an old janitor magically transforms him back into his 17 year old self.
So Mike is 17 again and strangely enough the first thing he chooses to do is go back to high school! Maybe not what I would have chosen but who knows what I’ll think in 20 years time. Mike returns to high school, drags along his best friend, Ned, as his father and finds himself in classes with his two children, Maggie and Alex. He learns a lot about them at school, as well as undergoing some really cringy moments. There are also a number of occasions when Maggie and Alex would be seriously embarrassed if they knew Mike (or Mark as he is known at school) was their father.
This film is packed full of laughs and I mean genuine laugh out loud moments. Ned must be the coolest nerd best friend ever (he has a life size model of Darth Vader in his hall) and his romance with the principal is strange to say the least. Mike himself also generates laughter as a 37 year old in the body of a 17 year old trying to act ‘cool’.
I admit that before I went to see this film I was slightly dubious of Zac Efron. I didn’t want to find myself watching another High School Musical or Hairspray (not that I have anything against those films). However, I am pleased to say that Zac Efron exceeded my expectations and he really is a very good actor. Don’t let his association with HSM out you off. I thought this film was much better than HSM.
Overall, 17 Again is a film that I would quite happily watch over and over again. It was genuinely funny, had a good storyline and was acted very well. This film deserves 5 out of 5.
