Customer Reviews

17 Again

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm pretty picky about movies I'll spend money on nowadays. I fell in love with this movie because, in the middle of so much crud coming out of Hollywood, here is a show that actually praises abstinence and encourages families to work out their problems.

The humor is incredibly clever, Zac Efron nailed Matthew Perry's mannerisms and intonations, and the storyline is charming.

I can't even count how many times I've watched this movie since buying it. I highly recommend it. And of course, I found it cheapest here on Amazon.

OK buddies don't laugh! I watched this film because my wife recorded it on our DVR. This film reminded me of so many of those 80's high school comedies with the body switching premise. The film is not very original, but Zac Efron carries the story with some help from a good cast that keep it amusing. The story of a would be basket ball star (Efron) blows his big chance at playing college ball and getting a scholarship to marry his high school sweetheart who he gets pregnant. Fast forward 20 years and you have Matthew Perry who is stuck in a nowhere job and can't seem to find any passion in his life whether it be fixing up the house, being a good dad or not making his wife feel guilty for the choice he made to leave the big game to propose to her.

While the film is oh-so familiar, I thought Efron was engaging and with the help of comedians Jim Gaffigan and Thomas Lennon, the film is an easy watch with some funny moments. Efron shows he could be more than just a pretty face in this good natured teen comedy.

I grew up watching films like this...Freaky Friday, Big, 18 Again and so on.

I wasn't expecting anything new from the plot or story premise so it was up to the actors and screenwriting to carry this through.

And they did.

Though this didn't receive 'rave' critical review, it was quite cute and highly entertaining. The cast was well assembled and Zach Efron was surprisingly funny, especially opposite "Lt. Dangle" (Tom Lennon).

I actually read a review somewhere that Efron lacked 'edge' in this role...ummm, what? Was 'edge' really necessary? I didn't think so. He was adorable and funny and what more does one need for entertainment?

I watched this with my husband and mother-in-law and we all agreed to its entertainment value as qualifying as 'cute and funny'.

Life has not gone well for Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry). His wife Scarlett (Leslie Mann) has kicked him out. His kids, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight) want nothing to do with him.

When he tells the janitor at the high school he'd love to go back and do it all again, he suddenly finds himself back in his 17 year old body (now played by Zac Efron). Getting his best friend Ned (Thomas Lennon) to claim to be his father, he enrolls in high school. But why has Mike become 17 again? Can he solve all his problems with a second chance?

I guessed going into this where the story was going, and I was right. Heck, the age changing movie is nothing new. But this movie offers an enjoyable take on the familiar premise. It's funny at times and tender at others. And the humor doesn't reach too far into the awkward humor bucket, something I find more cringe inducing than funny most of the time.

When I first heard about the casting, I did have to question it. Zac Efron and Matthew Perry? Seriously? But I think I am thinking about a fantasy comedy too seriously. The entire cast gives good performances, ranging from the funny to the more serious and tender moments.

A special shout to Thomas Lennon and the character of Ned. He made the film for me. I laughed so hard at Ned reveling in his geekiness. And Thomas Lennon played the part absolutely perfectly.

As I suspected from the PG-13 rating, there is plenty of sexual humor over the course of the film. I did find myself laughing at parts of it despite myself, but other times I found it more squirm inducing than funny. Parents will definitely want to think about it before they let their pre-teens and young teens see it.

Honestly, I think the movie could have been just as funny and more enjoyable for me without the sexual humor. Even as it is, this is an enjoyable comedy.

I Got this movie to watch with my wife. I was expecting nothing but the typical teen flick, starring one of Disney's prefabricated Child Stars.

Wow! Zac Efron CAN Act! Who would've thought. This guy could turn into a HUGE star in the next few years and a Highly Respected actor if he makes good career choices. The movie was really good too. I was entertained the whole time and wasn't bored for not even a minute.

This movie reminded me a lot of Back to the Future. It wasn't as good (BTTF is a classic) but it was a pretty good effort and a pleasant surprise.

If you took `Big', threw in a little `Disney's The Kid' and added an emotional heft of `It's a Wonderful Life' and you'd have the magic of '17 Again'. I really can't believe I just said all that, since walking into this movie I expected to find it mundane and worthless. I actually really liked this movie, like a lot.

Sure, it's predictable, but in a charmingly fresh way.

The film tells the story of Mike, a one-time basketball star who gave up his dreams to marry his pregnant girlfriend. Twenty years later and Mike is bitter and dissatisfied with his life, which has weighed heavily on his wife Scarlett, who feels like the target of Mike's unhappiness. The film opens with Mike living at his best friend Ned's house while he awaits his impending divorce. Mike's teenage kids resent him and his wife is aching to love him, but her better judgment won't allow it. When Mike gets a freaky visit from a man no one else can see he is soon in for a strange yet much needed wake up call. After falling off a bridge, Mike finds himself 17 again, only this time he's living out his high school days in the present, with his wife and kids in arms reach. Taking this as an opportunity to fix his life, Mike begins mending relationships, but his current situation certainly makes it a tad difficult.

You don't need me to tell you that everything works out in the end, but the film works a lot of magic getting us there!

Personally, I didn't have much faith in Zac Efron. I was wrong. This kid has loads of charm and real talent that he uses to full effect here. The films more tender scenes are carried with the needed humor yet substantial emotional depth. Who wasn't near tears while Efron unloads in a classroom about the love he felt for his newborn daughter or when he pleaded in the courtroom for his wife to give him another chance? Efron NAILED this performance. He was slick, charming, cool and emotionally relevant. The supporting cast didn't do so bad either. Thomas Lennon (as the nerdy best friend) is ridiculously hilarious here, even when his character is a little too far over the top, and Leslie Mann is not only beautiful, but she is intelligently funny (I just love her work). Michelle Trachtenberg is like my new celebrity crush (man has she grown up) and Sterling Knight balances his awkwardness with layered bravado as Mike's son.

Yes, this story has been told before, but that doesn't mean this one isn't just as good as the others. It's far from what I expected, but that is a very good thing.

I luv this movie. :) I was really looking for something to get me outta a funk on one particular afternoon and this movie was playing on cable so I figured "what the heck." And misson accomplished. 17 Again is funny, its sweet, its emotional and its entertaining. Everyone in the film is great but I have to give props to Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon and of course Zac Efron ( these two are a hoot together ). Mr.Efron continues to surprise me with his versatility and I luv that! I've watched him grow up on the small screen and big and he's wonderful and even getting better on the eyes. ;-) This movie is a joy no matter how old you are. I luv it. I now own it. And I watch it all the time.

This movie is a delightful romp with a lot to offer. Zac Efron is amazing in his part as Mike, with talent to burn. He's sweet but takes no prisoners when dealing with ruffians, and his moves on the dance floor and his agility with a basketball are equally impressive. He demonstrates his acting chops in this movie as well, going from winsome to tough to romantic and all-around likeable without ruffling a feather.

Thomas Lennon as his quirky Star Wars sidekick is hilarious and adorable. His role is more than a supporting one, as his storyline is given more space than one might expect, but it adds a lot to the movie's humor and keeps it lighter than it would be with the sometimes gritty problems that Mike faces with his children's issues and the difficulties of trying to recapture his wife's love.

Matthew Perry's part is too small to do him justice, but he fulfills it well. The movie focuses mainly on Zac Efron's part in regaining what the adult Mike, played by Perry, cannot get back on his own.

This movie is so enjoyable that you're willing to suspend disbelief when you need to. Mike's wife, for example, seeing him exactly as he looked when he was a teenager, is very slow in picking up on the fact that he IS her husband as a teenager, and she seems blandly accepting of the story concocted by Lennon's character that the young Mike is his son. Of course, the transformation from 30-year-old to 17-year-old Mike is another leap, but the movie is so engaging that you don't mind. Watching Mike get back at the bullies picking on his teen children is satisfying, and his efforts to extricate himself from sticky situations are humorous.

Anyone who ever thinks about those teen years and wishes there were a way to go back and relive them again will enjoy this movie. There's plenty of action, some tender moments, and enough craziness to keep you thoroughly entertained. It gets my vote, and I'll definitely watch it again.

Great, funny movie. Zac Efron did a great job with a more "adult" role. (and he still dances great:)
Don't overthink the movie, just sit back and enjoy it. I laughed out loud many times. Thomas Lennon did a super job as Ned. Hilarious!
The nuances and subtleties were amazing if you pay attention to all of the looks and gestures of what is "not" being said. Zac playing an adult in a teenager's body.
The movie surprised me and was much better than I expected. You have to watch it more than once to pick up on all the 1989 / present comparisons and flashbacks.

If you are checking reviews on this movie you are not expecting a completely fresh time travel movie...you know the basic idea.

Now for the nitty-gritty.

For once the supporting male friend (Thomas Lennon) is fun and quirky instead of crass and crude. Win.

The storyline is sweet. At age 17 Mike (Perry/Efron) gives up his dreams to do the right thing. While college scouts wait in the bleachers to be dazzled by his basketball genius, his girlfriend paces on the sidelines. Mike makes her tell him what was wrong, she does and Mike walks off the court, out of his dreams and into reality. Unfortunately, what he gave up consumes him. In a Wonderful Life/ 13 Going on 30 chance to revisit age 17, Mike faces high school with his own kids and having to rebuild his popularity the hard way. He develops caring relationships with his teens and rediscovers his wife on a whole new level. Win.

Sex and partying among teens happens. Refreshingly, other than a few off-color remarks (including Mike's job as a drug representative for a Viagra-type product, most is off-screen and low key. When the teen Mike sits through sex-ed he shares his conservative views on sex while the teacher passes out condoms, even suggesting that it needs to be between people who love each other and it's about things like being mature enough to recognize the value of children and real love and commitment. Win.

Overall, this is a sweet movie with a big heart. Not earth-shatteringly brilliant, but rich.