17 Again: Movie Review
Have you ever wished that you could go back to high school? Chances are that isn't something that's high on your list of priorities in life. But what if you were given the chance to start over? What if you could go back to your teenage years, knowing what you do now, and fix the things you think you did wrong? Well, this is the idea behind the new movie, "17 again," released on DVD in August.
37-year-old Mike O'Donnell's (Matthew Perry) character is unmemorable and not particularly convincing, but fortunately this doesn't have too much of an effect on the movie, as his older self is not highlighted throughout. He portrays a man who deeply wishes he could go back to his high school years. As a senior in high school, he is the star of his basketball team. The movie opens to a scene of 17-year-old Mike (Zac Efron), shirtless and sweating, playing his most important game of the season, complete with hundreds of screaming fans, college scouts, and pressure from his coach.
At halftime, he sees his beautiful girlfriend looking upset, and after much inquisition, she reluctantly informs him that she's pregnant. In a daze, he stumbles onto the court to finish the game, and when the buzzer sounds, he sees her walking away, heartbroken. One impulsive, mature, and life-changing decision later, he finds himself running away from an unfinished game, his astounded coach, and a future in college basketball towards the girl he loves.
One day Mike visits his old high school as an adult who never went to college, is going through a divorce, doesn't get the job promotion he wanted, and has two kids who never talk to him, now his children's, and sees pictures of his basketball glory days and wishes he could go back, finish the game that he abandoned, go to college, and have no more regrets.
Of course, you must be careful what you wish for! Later that night, thanks to a jolly and surprisingly creepy janitor, Mike finds himself in a new body: his from 20 years before!
Together with hilarious and Sci-Fi crazed childhood friend, Ned (Thomas Lennon), newly 17 year old Mike attempts to live his high school years the way he had always dreamed. In this fabulous movie laced with nostalgia, regret, discovery, and romance, lessons are learned as Mike gets to know his children for the first time, overcomes his regrets and fears, and remembers the reason that he left that court so many years before.
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