17 Again (2009) Movie Review

17 Again – ABC Film Challenge – Comedy – Z (Zac Efron) – 17 Again – Movie Review

Director: Burr Steers

Writer: Jason Filardi (Screenplay)

Cast

Zac Efron (The Greatest Showman)
Matthew Perry (Friends)
Leslie Mann (Knocked Up)
Thomas Lennon (I Love You, Man)
Sterling Knight (Landmine Goes Click)

Plot: Mike O’Donnell is ungrateful for how his life turned out. He gets a chance to rewrite his life when he tried to save a janitor near a bridge and jumped after him into a time vortex.

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: 17 Again starts as high school basketball star Mike O’Donnell (Efron) gives up his big moment after learning his girlfriend Scarlet is pregnant. Moving forward in life, Mike’s marriage has fallen apart. He has become distant from his teenage children Maggie (Trachtenberg) and Alex (Knight) and he loses his job.

Returning to his high school an adult Mike (Perry) makes a wish to return to his life where things could have gone better. This transforms him back to his 17-year-old version of himself. He convinces his best friend Ned (Lennon) to pretend to be his father so he can return to school. Here, he gets a chance to show life lessons to his kids from a different point of view and even gets closer to his wife again.

Verdict on 17 Again

17 Again is a fantasy comedy following a middle-aged man that is struggling in life. He wishes he was younger again, leading to him turning back down to his 17-year-old self. Here, he ends up using his new chance to connect to his family to help them in a way he never understood before.

This is a fun comedy, it gets to show how difficult growing up can become. Leaving you questioning what might have happened in your life. This brings us a nice story about getting to know the people you love in a different way. As well as showing how life could have gone a different way. The cast is great in the movie, holding the whole story together for extra laughs.

Final Thoughts – 17 Again is an enjoyable comedy with a big heart.