17 Again

Plot synopsis:
Popular high school senior Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) seemingly has it all. He is a star athlete headed straight for a college scholarship when he decides to give it up to settle down with his high school girlfriend Scarlet is pregnant.
Twenty years later, an adult Mike (played by Matthew Perry) finds his life is not exactly what he expected. He is separated from his wife, Scarlett (Leslie Mann) and living with his wealthy software genius nerd and best friend Ned Freedman (Thomas Lennon), his career at a pharmaceutical company is at a stand still, and his relationships with his teenage children are nonexistent. After getting passed up for yet another promotion at work, he returns to his high school to reminisce over his basketball awards and the life he could have had. While he is reliving his glory days, he is approached by a janitor and shares with him how things were so much better when he was 17.
As Mike is driving home from the high school, he sees the mysterious janitor standing on the ledge preparing to jump into the Los Angeles River. Mike rushes out of his car to rescue him, but when he gets there, the janitor has vanished. What Mike doesn't realize is that he is about to fall into the river and turn into his 17 year old self.
Young Mike (Zac Efron) returns to Ned's house, where he has the difficult task of convincing Ned that he is in fact Mike. At a loss of what to do, Ned pretends to be Mike's father and they register Mike back in high school to finish the life he never had the chance to live.
High school presents a lot of new challenges for Mike, such as dressing cool, keeping up with the latest gadgets and making new friends. But nothing compares to being in high school with his own children. He discovers that his daughter, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg), is not nearly as innocent as he thought she was and his son, Alex (Sterling Knight), is the brunt of the star athlete's jokes.
But Mike's most difficult realization is that he hasn't been a very good father or husband. Mike befriends Alex and tries to instill him with enough confidence to join the basketball team. He gets close to Maggie's obnoxious boyfriend and does everything in his power to break them up. Most importantly, he visits an unsuspecting Scarlet and rediscovers all the things that initially made him fall in love with her. You don't know what you have until you lose it.
Through his experiences, Mike realizes that he had chosen the perfect life he just never appreciated it. Now, he must figure out a way to transform back into his older self and win back his wife and kids. *Info from comingsoon.net*---------------------In 1989, Michael O'Donnell was the star of the high-school basketball team, with a college scout in the bleachers ready to watch his championship game and a scholarship guaranteed for him if he played well. Just as the game is about to start, he sees his girlfriend Scarlett by the bleachers. He blows her a kiss, then goes to her when she looks very troubled. She tries to pretend everything is fine, but finally she tells him she's pregnant. The game starts, but he can't think of anything but Scarlett, and when he sees her leaving, he tosses the ball away and walks away from the game and the scholarship to marry her.Twenty years later, Mike's life is a mess. Scarlett has separated from him, forcing him to move in with his high-school best friend Ned Gold, now a geeky millionaire software developer, and his kids Maggie and Alex are distant and want nothing to do with him. At his job, his boss passes him up for a promotion in favor of a woman the boss likes who's far less competent, and Mike explodes at the boss and is fired. He stops by his old high school on the way home, sees his 1989 team photo in the showcase, and reminisces about the life he threw away. Then he encounters a mysterious janitor who asks him if he really wishes he was a teenager back in high school again, and he does. On the way home, he sees the "janitor" apparently ready to jump from a bridge and he tries to stop him, but the janitor suddenly disappears and Mike falls in the river himself, where he's magically transformed back to age17.After he convinces Ned who he really is, Mike decides he's been given the chance to live his life over again "but to do it right" -- to win the basketball scholarship and go to college. With Ned posing as his father, he re-enrolls in high school under the name "Mark Gold," living with Ned in his mansion full of high-tech toys. But as he starts to fit in to school life, he realizes his daughter is dating the sadistic basketball captain Stan, who only wants sex from her, and that Stan is also bullying and tormenting his son. Gradually, "Mark" realizes that the real reason he's been given another chance in life is to help his children and try to win back Scarlett's love. He befriends Alex and discovers that his son has real talent in basketball and can hit 3-point shots effortlessly. He works with Alex to sharpen the rest of his game so he can win a place on the team and the girl of his dreams. As Alex and Mark practice shooting baskets together every day at Alex's house, Scarlett is amazed how much her son's new friend looks like her ex-husband looked in 1989.Mark starts helping Scarlett landscape her back yard, because she hopes to start a landscaping business. He gains a new appreciation for her talents, but he frequently comes close to her or touches her in ways she considers inappropriate between an adult woman and a teenaged boy. He also comforts Maggie when Stan dumps her for refusing to "put out." He tells her that someday she'll find a guy who treasures her the way she deserves, but he's horrified when he realizes Maggie is starting to think that guy is HIM. He tells her he can't get involved with her because he's already in love with someone else, someone secret.The basketball team wins a come-from-behind game, with Mark doing a lot, but Alex makes the winning 3-point shot. Meanwhile, Ned has been smitten with Jane, the high school principal, since the first day he went to her office to enroll his "son," but his geeky attempts to impress her have done nothing but disgust her. Finally, in return for buying laptops for all the students in the school, she agrees to go to dinner with him on the same night that Mark has announced a party at his house to celebrate winning the game. Mark tells only certain people about the party, but kids text it everywhere and the whole school shows up.Ned's romantic dinner with Jane is going nowhere until he finally admits that he's always been a loser with women. He's really just a geek, obsessed with The Lord of the Rings. She slowly smiles, and starts talking to him in Elvish -- one of the languages in The Lord of the Rings -- and he realizes that she's also a Lord of the Rings fanatic. After a seductive conversation in Elvish, Ned and Jane go back to his house for romance, but they find Mark's party completely out of control with hundreds of kids everywhere. Scarlett is also there, looking for Alex, and Mark's feelings for her are so strong that he can't control himself and he tries to kiss her in front of all the kids. Scarlett is appalled and slaps him, then runs away with Mark following her, shouting that he's her husband and the father of her children. Maggie and her friends all see this and are disgusted, especially Maggie, because Mark had told her he was in love with someone secret, and now she sees him trying to kiss her own mother.The next morning, cleaning up the chaos after the party, Ned reminds Mark that the hearing for Mike O'Donnell's final divorce decree with Scarlett is in 20 minutes, and they rush to the courtroom. Ned pretends to be Mike's lawyer, and they're being thrown out when Mark says he's there to read a letter that Mike has written to his wife. Scarlett agrees to hear the letter, and Mark reads it with emotional power in his voice that astonishes her, plus details about their courtship that only her husband could have known. Mark finishes by saying that, since he sees that she doesn't want him in her life anymore, he's content to let her go because he loves her so much. After Mark finishes and is forced to leave the courtroom, Scarlett picks up the "letter" and discovers it's just a piece of paper with directions to the courthouse on it. Mark wasn't reading a letter at all but somehow knew all the things he had told her. She asks for the divorce decree to be postponed.Mark tries to forget about Scarlett and concentrates on basketball, because winning the scholarship and going to college seem to be the only thing he has left for him. On the day of the championship game, where Mark and Alex are playing and Maggie is cheerleading, Scarlett is looking at her high-school yearbook and realizes that Mark doesn't just look similar to her husband at 17, he looks EXACTLY the same. Then Maggie reminds Scarlett she's supposed to drive her to the game, and Scarlett stays to watch.As the game is about to start, Mark sees Scarlett in the bleachers. He blows her a kiss, using a gesture identical to the one Mike had used in 1989, when he was playing in the same championship game and saw her standing by the bleachers. Scarlett finally realizes that Mark really IS her husband, somehow turned 17 again. She realizes all the reasons she loved him then and still loves him, but she knows she can't possibly make her life together with a 17 year-old boy. Also, she realizes that knowing she's there in the bleachers watching him could put him in the same situation as before, and she can't risk making him lose his college scholarship again. She leaves, going down the same corridor she used when she left the game in 1989.Mark sees Scarlett leaving, forgets about the game and walks away, just as he did in 1989. He hands the ball to Alex, saying this time it's his turn, and runs down the corridor after Scarlett. We see the mysterious janitor smiling in the stands, and by the time Mark catches up to Scarlett, he's the adult Mike O'Donnell again. Mike tells Scarlett he's made a mess of his marriage because he spent the last 20 years resentful at her for losing him his chance to go to college, but now he realizes his family is the only thing that matters to him, and he asks for another chance.A few days later, Mike goes to Ned's house to get his stuff and return his key. He finds Ned in bed with Jane, both of them wearing Elf ears. Mike thanks Ned for all he's done, and Ned gives Mike a parting gift, a whistle for his new job, because Jane has made Mike the new coach of the high school basketball team.

Tags: romantic, humor

Review:
As we've seen many movies like this before: Big, 13 Going on 30, and Freaky Friday, we always love to see the retelling of the old classic story of the switching age.
I'm going to get this out, I am one of the rare girls that just doesn't get the whole Zac Efron heart throb thing, I agree that he's cute, but with mainly High School Musical only being his claim to fame other than Hairspray, he is adorable, but can he act?
I can't believe I'm saying this, he was actually a good strong lead role and a perfect fit, he has charisma, he's funny, charming and makes this story worth your time and money.In 1989, Michael O'Donnell was a star athlete with a full college scholarship imminent.
He realizes that his real mission is to help his children as well as finding out that maybe his decision wasn't the worst he ever made in his life.We go a little Back to the Future-esquire when we get on the creepy level of Michelle Trachtenberg having a crush on Zac Efron who is her father, just that she can't recognize him, it's understanding, but still makes you squirm, but the director and actors pulled the scene off pretty well with getting out of that yucky situation.
Twenty years later, Mike (Matthew Perry) is a complete loser that blames Scar for his failures: he is not promoted to sale manager after working sixteen years in the same company; Scarlett (Leslie Mann) is divorcing him; his teenagers son Alex (Sterling Knight) and daughter Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) hate him; and he is temporarily living with his best friend, the eccentric and immature millionaire Ned Gold (Thomas Lennon).
The script was hilarious and had a full good plot line, the casting was great (Zac Efron really made you believe he was married with children...
The daughter didn't really seem to have a personality, now I'm not totally sure if this is down to Trachtenbergs terrible acting (one of very little who deliver poor performances actually) or poor character development but something was wrong there.I don't really rate the cinematography, but I don't think it's something to be taken quite seriously in teen films.
I honestly thought it would be High School Musical-like but it turned out to be a nice movie to watch.
Right before the game that could make him into a star, Scarlet tells Mike she's pregnant, Mike makes a drastic and life altering decision and runs out of the game to be with her giving up his chances of becoming a basket ball star, now 20 years later Mike's regretting it all and wishes he could do it all over again, and by some miraculous way he does.17 again is a cool and stylish what if movie, it brings to light the question of what if you could change your life, if you could live it all over again.What would you do different?
The film was better.I was laughing so much, that I missed in between dialogue by some of the characters and it was the perfect film to help you unwind after doing a days worth of work or revision.When the opening scene started, I was so worried that the whole film was going to turn out as some kind of adaptation of high school musical and there'd be a song every 15 minutes.
In some places, he seemed so much like Matthew Perry which is difficult to pull off for most Amateur actors.The only reason I didn't give this movie a 10 out of 10 is because some people I watched this movie with believed it had an 'abrupt ending' but I thought you can't have too much of a good thing..
With elements of Big and 13 Going on 30, not to mention It's a Wonderful Life and Back to the Future, 17 Again is a pretty enjoyable meshing of those movies considering the cast which has Zac Efron, Michelle Trachtenberg, Leslie Mann, Margaret Cho, Thomas Lennon, and Melora Hardin.
My friends and I started to grin and sneeringly guess what was going to happen later in the film, and guess what: most of the time, we were right.We've all seen this movie before - it's been pieced together from the discarded carcasses of films past, by a flock of vultures seemingly so unaccustomed to originality in film-making that they have been rendered unable to create any plot twist even slightly unexpected or interesting.
A scene simply there to make most teenage girls squeal and so the rest of the film follows this formula.Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry) wishes that he could somehow change his past, go to college as he dreamed, play basketball and live happily ever after.
Thomas Lennon as Mike's best friend is funny but he also over acts and at times you can;t help but feel he has had much too much screen time.Overall, 17 Again is more focused on Zac Effron's talent than plot or jokes.
When i was going to see this film,i thought to myself that Zac Efrom was going to be all over this film showing off and all the girls in the cinema(which were about 95% of)would jump onto the screen and try and lick it.That wasn't the case at all.This film had been really funny and the star was of course Mr Efron himself.Efron's jokes were very well done and the way he handled himself around his family was fantastic.I would be the same thing if i went back to 17...although i am 15 right now.Matthew Perry was easily the lead in to efron,and he played it very well.Leslie's performance was a decent one.Michelle's was great at playing the horny,attitude,whatever teenage daughter.As for the loser son he was good as well as he turned from zero to hero.Overall this film had a cleaver story and quality acting that will make this film stand out as a comedy hit..
Since I knew what the film basically was going to turn out to be, I was just looking to see if the makers, actors and actresses did it right.When it immediately started off with Zac Efron shirtless, I knew it was going to be a good movie, haha, joking, but seriously, in the end, I was very pleased with how this turned out.
Yes, this film of course isn't a masterpiece, but I really thought it was very well done and overall lots of fun!Zac Efron gives a great performance as a teen Mike O Donell and the supporting actors and actresses are all likable and believable in their parts as well, which I found to be even more enjoyment, considering that a lot of films today have teens that couldn't act their way out of a bag.
I laughed, I didn't cry, but was really touched at times and then at the end, I nodded my head in approval for 17 Again was a really nice and satisfying teen flick that deserves it's over average rating and any positivity it gets.My favorite things were Ned's geekiness and Zac Efron's quirky humor with his daughter and son throughout the film.
a friend recommended this one to me and I had heard some very bad reviews, from some critics, people who don't really like Zac Efron and so on.I'm glad I finally made up my mind and decided to give this one a chance.
This movie made me laugh at times, made me tear up at the right parts and most of all, it made me think.Matthew Perry was great and I think Zac Efron should really give more dramatic roles a chance, since he proved to me on this one, that he can act.
Matthew Perry is excellent as Mike O'Donnell although his role isn't that long, Zac Efron is quite good in his performance of young Mike, with this role he can tell that he has a promising career after HSM ( thank god), Leslie Mann is convincing enough as Perry's wife Michelle Trachtenberg is also good and Thomas Lennon is terrific as Matthew's all time friend Ned, he is so funny that the movie is worthy just to watch him on it.
Of course there was the cheesy factor but you must admit it we all want to watch a cheesy movie once in a while.And oh my Zac Efron knows how to act!
You know, I've never really understood the craze around this film's star, but the supporting cast of Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, and Michelle Trachtenberg was enough to make me interested.
However, the best thing about the movie is the charisma, likability, and flat out wonderful leading man show from Zac Efron, who is definitely a lot better than I gave him credit for.'17 Again' really isn't anything you haven't seen before, but what sets it above other movies like it is the cast, especially Efron and Lennon.
Efron plays a role similar to what he's done in the High School Musical series (actually, I thought I was watching the wrong movie when this one started), but this time it's his ability to channel the mindset of a man 20 years older than he actually is, in addition to being the same charismatic young man that teenage girls fall over for that makes him a big winner in this one.
Matthew Perry is also underused, but it's Efron's version of the character that really counts, and Perry does his best to channel Efron's mannerisms while blending some of his own (everyone loves the sarcastic side of him).This movie is not without its faults however, the biggest one being the total awkwardness brought on by the events in the movie...subplots involving the main character's daughter and awkward scenes with Efron and Mann ultimately fail on screen (while they sound funny, they just don't play out in the way the film makers hoped), making for some moments that should have you squirming in your seat.'17 Again' is a simple movie that should please its audience.
As far as acting goes, Zac owned this movie, he is showing that he can mature up to his role and not be like how he is in high school musical, ill definitely look forward to where his career takes him now that hes gone from Disney.
And, let's cue the body swap movie.In order to get us, the audience, where we need to be which is watching Zac play out this 17 again life while maintaining his middle aged knowledge, Mike (Perry) falls into a Twilight Zone type of vortex where the switch happens.
Still riding on the undeniable success of the 'High School Musical' franchise, Zac Efron steps aside the musical genre to front comedy '17 Again', in which he plays the younger counterpart of a moody thirty-something year old who spends his days regretting not following his own dreams as a teenager in order to stand by his pregnant girlfriend.
Mike O'Donnell, played by both Zac Efron and Matthew Perry (with an ability that credits them both as comic actors), is given the chance to change his life for the better when a strange accident leads to his becoming a teenager once again.The surprise for this viewer with '17 Again' was that the content and tone of the film was in considerable contrast to how I originally perceived the package; from the use of Disney's current poster boy to the concept of the film itself, the movie on paper could read like an exercise in crowd-pleasing for the masses of Efron's female fans that its release would be bound to attract.
He's 17 again for another reason entirely.Efron, Thomas Lennon, Matthew Perry, Michelle Trachtenberg, Melora Hardin, Leslie Mann, and Nicole Sullivan all give excellent performances, with Lennon's character definitely being the showiest and most fun.
I was not very interested in watching 17 Again,but I decided to do it because of the presence of some solid comedians on the cast and the fact that it was directed by Burr Steers,who some years ago impressed me with the film Igby Goes Down pretty much.I obviously could not expect something as unpredictable and subversive on this family comedy,but I considered that his presence would add something interesting to the formula of "adult mind in a young body" as a possibility.Unfortunately it was not like that,and 17 Again resulted to be a boring rehash of the old formula.I think I have seen about 10 movies about body,minds or ages (whatever) exchanges,from the original Freaky Friday to its remake,without forgetting the wave of 80's movies with a similar story (Big; Like Father,Like Son; Vice Versa; Dream a Little Dream...have I forgotten any?).The first half of 17 Again is unbearably tedious,because it was constructed by elements from all the previously mentioned films.The second half gets a little bit better,but it is still boring.Besides,this movie is full of sentimental clichés we have seen many times,and the comedians whose work I enjoyed on other occasions (Matthew Perry,Melora Hardin and Nicole Sullivan) do not have much to do.Besides the episode from Saturday Night Live in which he participated and his role on the movie Hairspray (2007),I had not seen anywhere else to the famous Zac Efron,so I was not very familiar with his work.After having seen him for first time in a leading role in 17 Again,I have to say his performance lacks of weight and deepness,even though he shows some charisma.Like other juvenile actors (like Michael Cera or Jonah Hill),he seems to be destined to interpret the same character for a very long time,something which is not precisely bad...when the material is not bad.Unfortunately,17 Again qualifies as bad material, and it is a boring movie,which does not offer too many positive elements,so I do not recommend it..
This is one of those Zac Efron movies which made me a big fan of his, where he totally nails it good along with a perfect partner that is Thomas Lennon, who indispensably did a pretty fine job too and added his unique touch on the movie.17 Again granted us a quite entertaining experience for a concept that is too sensitive to play with, and might go in a really bad way in case of not being handled properly.
This isn't a particularly original movie the plot is strung together with a load of clichés we've seen in many other romantic comedies and body swap flicks the performances are the best thing about it Matthew Perry isn't really given a chance to shine as the older Mike this is the Zac Efron i was concerned about this role thinking it would be a retread of his performances in those dreadful High school musical comedies but i was surprised Efron was Charming , engaging and very sweet he is not just a pretty boy with a nice haircut who showed off his dramatic chops pretty well especially a very moving court scene where he reads a letter that was written by the older Mike trying to not only rekindle the relationship with the great love of his life but to also tell her the older Mike is trapped inside of him .
Considering the fact that the premise of this film (old/young body/soul swapping) has pretty much been done to death in varying decades, "17 Again" is surprisingly effective at rendering the concept funny once again in 2009.For a basic plot summary, this film sees an adult Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry) dissatisfied with his life and pining for the promise of his high school career once again.
Well, thanks to a magical school janitor (one should always watch out for those characters!), he is put back into the body of his former teen self (Zac Efron) for a "do-over".
Personally, not a huge Zac Efron fan, didn't think he did a very good job in the movie.
My favorite scene was the date with the high school principal and Lennon's character speaking to her is elfish language.Overall, 17 Again is a good movie despite being a formulaic comedy.
The main young actor ZAc Efron played well surprinsingly, hopefully for him he'll be offered other interesting roles like this one, it is a pity that Matthew Perry had only a small role, the pretend dad was hilarious, the scene with Mark's kids and wife were predictable but very funny overall.
Back in his 17 year old bod (Zac Efron looking like a young Rob Lowe), Mike oversees the trials and tribulations of his two kids who attend the same school, whilst also forming a "special" bond with his future wife Scarlet (Leslie Mann) who is going to divorce him!
And after years spent bemoaning the life of athletic glory he never got to experience, Mike learns that there's really nothing more important in life than being a good husband and father to one's family.Despite game performances from the two Mikes (Matthew Perry and Zac Efron), "17 Again" suffers from an ill-conceived premise, labored slapstick routines, and an overabundance of sappy life lessons to go along with all the standard teen-movie hijinks.
This is something kids will enjoy and adults won't mind watching with them, maybe I am giving a more positive review of this film than it deserves, but I had such a low expectation of this movie that the good parts about it seemed much more better than it probably really was.
this film pleasantly surprised me.i figured it would be the usual age switch movie with all the usual cliché and stereotypes.but it wasn't.it was well acted,and well written.it had a good storyline and it wasn't schmaltzy or overly sappy.Zac Efron who played the teenage Mike O'Donnell was very good in the role.Matthew Perry was good as the Adult Mike O'Donnel,but his role was fairly limited.but i really liked the quirky character of Ned Gold,portrayed by Thomas Lennon.Lennon was very good in the role.overall,even though the ending was predictable,i found the film to be very pleasant entertainment.for me,17 Again is a strong 8/10.