Review

Review Date: 19-April-09
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Juicy

17 Again (2009)

The most remarkable thing about 17 Again is that it actually succeeds at being all things to all people, or at least all people who might consider watching another adult-zapped-into-a-kid's-body comedy. Considered from a Hollywood standpoint, it provides dreamboat-of-the-moment Zac Efron with a vehicle in which he can simultaneously play a high school hunk and a man grappling with life's disappointment, thereby stretching his credentials while satisfying his current fan base. From an audience standpoint, it allows parents to enjoy a little rec time with their daughters (and possibly sons) and for everyone to feel like the movie was made for them. It even invites women with burgeoning mid-life crises to unlock their inner Humbert and lust after youth in the enabling and supportive dark. It is quite a shiny package indeed.

Efron is shiny as well, despite bad hair, and fully up to carrying this picture on his own. His character, Mike, starts out at age 37 when he is portrayed by Matthew Perry. In addition to going through a divorce, Mike is despised by his children and unappreciated by a company that values young and hip more than experienced and loyal. We learn that he was a golden boy in high school who gave up a basketball scholarship to marry the pregnant girlfriend whom he loved. (This flashback puts Harry Potter in 1989, but I guess the stuff of legend is timeless.) It is no wonder that Mike longs to return to his glory days, and after some half-baked mojo borrowed from It's a Wonderful Life he is reborn in his 17-year-old body.

What gives the movie its warmth is that Mike quickly begins to regard the opportunity as a way to improve what he has already built rather than chuck it for something better. After enrolling at his old high school, he focuses on guiding his now contemporary son (Sterling Knight) and daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg) towards higher self-esteem and happiness. Comedy ensues from his juggling a rejuvenated paternal instinct with a role as the new cock on the walk, and from the antics of his über-geeky best friend (Thomas Lennon) who is the only person who knows about his miraculous transformation.

Mike also shares some surprisingly intense moments with his soon-to-be-ex wife (Leslie Mann), whose fascination with how much he resembles her childhood sweetheart betokens a lingering affection for the boy who loved her but succumbed to disillusionment. Can this marriage be saved? Not if Mike remains 20 years her junior, of course, so an exact second chance at his Big Decision lets him prove his worth as a husband and land himself where he wants to be. Sadly, Matthew Perry Mike is not nearly as beguiling as Zac Efron Mike, but that is due to realities which all adults must face when leaving sweet fantasies like this.

Copyright © 2009 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.