Review of 17 Again (2009) by Ola G — 06 Aug 2014

At 17, Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) is on top of the world: he's the star of his high school basketball team, is a shoo-in for a college scholarship, and is dating his soul-mate, Scarlet. But at what's supposed to be his big game where a college scout is checking him out, Scarlet reveals that she's pregnant. Mike decides to leave the game and asks Scarlet to marry him, which she does. During their following years, Mike (Matthew Perry) can only whine about the life he lost because he married her, so she throws him out. When he also loses his job as well after an altercation with a manager, he returns to the only place he's happy at, his old high school. While looking at his high school photo, a janitor asks him if he wishes he could be 17 again and he says yes. One night while driving he sees the janitor on a bridge ready to jump, and goes after him. When he returns to his friend Ned's house, where he has been staying, he sees that he is 17 again. And he decides to take this opportunity to get back the life he lost...

"17 Again" made me think of "Back To The Future", "Like Father Like Son" and "Vice Versa" as it has certain layers that are similar. Meaning, this sort of "switch" movie is hardly something we haven´t seen before. But, Zac Efron has a sort of glow to him and he does portray Mike in a great way, even if he is a bit too perfect visually. However, he is a solid actor as he showed in "The Paperboy" and he truly has a career written in the stars if he continues to handle it properly. "17 Again" gives us a comment that if we could go back and change something, we should do the same thing again as these paths are the ones that shapes us for better or worse, but we just need to be reminded of them every once in a while. That might be true, but I always say as well that the gut feeling is a good decider when in doubt. And you can change the future, not the past. Life is now and forward. "17 Again" is ok and there´s a solid message baked into this classic high school comedy facade.