Disney's 17 Again

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

The Movie

The Plot

Ever wish you could go back to high school and do your life over? Relive that wish as you follow Mike O’Donnell—a man, dissatisfied with the past 17 years of his life. Watch as he’s transformed into a teenage boy only to realize what he really wants is not a second chance at life but a second chance to save his marriage.

Starring

Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Michelle Trachtenberg, and more.

Review

Let’s be honest here, movies about adults somehow managing to go back in time to relive their youth isn’t a new concept. In fact, one can argue that it’s been done to death. So when I heard about 17 Again, I boycotted it at the movies. And when I heard Matthew Perry was playing the role of the adult who transforms into a younger version of himself, I was turned off even more. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Matthew Perry as an actor, but as of late his acting always seems tired—as though he isn’t putting any real energy into his roles, as though he’d rather be anywhere but in that part.

But when the film hit DVD status my daughter begged me to get it. After all, Zac Efron was starring in it and “anything he stars in just has to be good”. So here I am having to admit that I’ve already watched it twice! Yes, I was w-r-o-n-g. Yes, the storyline is predictable. But Efron is amazing! He really pulls it off and has you believing that he is indeed an older gentleman in a younger body.

The story starts with a young Mike O’Donnell starring in the school’s basketball game. With a scout in the stands ready to offer O’Donnell a college scholarship, life couldn’t be sweeter. But things quickly change from optimistic to settling when his girlfriend, Scarlett, informs him that she’s pregnant with their child.

So far so good, we’re immediately drawn into the storyline and can’t wait to see what happens next. It’s when the storyline is fast forwarded seventeen years and Matthew Perry is introduced as the old Mike O’Donnell that the storyline hits a snag.

Mike is sitting with his best friend, eating breakfast, when we discover that his marriage is over and his kids want nothing to do with him. Next scene: Mike’s sitting in an office meeting being passed over for a promotion he’s waited years to receive. A dead-end job, by the way, that appears to be very unrealistic: an office full of young, attractive women with a kid who appears to have barely graduated from high school as his boss of two years. Next scene: Mike is in his old high school, longing for the “good old days” when life was better. Next scene: Mike’s telling his soon-to-be ex-wife that he’s really disappointed with his life.

Yet, despite these events, we’re still not really sure why he’s so miserable with his life. There’s no build-up, there’s no emotional tie to Mike, and there’s nothing so wrong with his life that he’d want to relive it. In fact, we can’t help but wonder, “Why isn’t he happy with his wife (who still appears desirable, attractive, and madly in love with her husband) and why don’t his kids want anything to do with him?” Could he really be that bitter about giving up his chance at a basketball scholarship to marry the girl of his dreams and start a family, or is there more to it?

And thus, we immediately begin to worry that the film is going downhill fast. But things couldn’t be further from the truth for that’s when the plot picks back up and we enjoy a nice ride with young Mike.

Initially Mike, now going by the name of Mark, thinks he’s been given a second chance to “do his life over again and to do it right”—a chance to do something for himself. But it’s seeing his children interact in high school that causes him to rethink the reason he’s become a teenager again.

What I find amazing is how quick young Mike, err Mark, finds his confidence again. As an adult, he seemed beaten up by life but as a teen, he seems to have found a new zest for life and takes full advantage of that zest while sharing the lessons he’s learned from the past seventeen years with the younger generation—his newfound peers.

There are quite a few comical scenes throughout the film but my favorites have got to be the scenes when young Mike forgets that he’s “young Mike” and actually parents his kids and their friends. I even enjoyed the comical, yet age-appropriate messages on fidelity, abstinence, self-respect, friendship, and peer pressure.

In the end, Mike learns the biggest lesson of all—true happiness and contentment comes in appreciating what you have. And that living in the past—trying to hold onto that thing you lost when you chose a different path and constantly wondering what could have been—can destroy everything that’s good in your life; leaving you miserable, unhappy, and lonely.

Overall, it’s a great take on a tired cliché and I wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone age 15 and older.

Your Task

Find a sitter for your younger children, then order a pizza and pop and have a “teen date” with your older children. After the film is over, tell them what it was like in high school—for you, what you wish you’d have done differently and what you wouldn’t change for anything in the world. Then ask them about their high school experience, to date: what would they change, what would they do different, what’s stopping them from making those changes now? And if you’re brave enough, talk about the scenes dealing with fidelity and abstinence and peer pressure. It’s a great way to reconnect with your kids!

Order 17 Again Today!