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Efron Keeps Retread '17 Again' Afloat
Disney Poster Boy Shows Acting Chops In Body Swap Comedy
POSTED: 8:32 am CDT April 17, 2009
"17 Again" (PG-13)
(out of four)That story, again? A middle-aged man (we've seen it with a women in the role, too), gets taken back to their younger days so he can see what life would have been like had they appreciated their blessings.The comedy "17 Again" is "Big" again. "17 Again" is "13 Going on 30" again. "17 Again" is "18 Again." But the good news is, "17 Again" also has Zac Efron, who somehow makes this retread of a movie seem fresh.The movie opens on a basketball court with a shirtless Efron, no doubt purposely planted to make the teen idol's fans swoon. Efron plays Mike O'Donnell, who isn't only a star on the high school basketball court, but one of the most popular boys in school. He has everything going for him, a college basketball scout in the stands, and a beautiful girlfriend named Scarlet (Allison Miller). When Scarlet shows up at the game to tell him they are expecting a baby, his hoop hopes exit out the gymnasium door, along with his college scholarship.Almost 20 years later, Mike (Matthew Perry) works at a pharmaceutical company and drives a Ford Taurus. His teenagers barely speak to him and his marriage to Scarlet (Leslie Mann) has fallen apart. His divorce is looming and he's moved in with high-school nerd-turned-uber-billionaire Ned (Thomas Lennon). He also gets passed over for a promotion at work for a new hire, a giddy twentysomething blonde girl. Mike's days couldn't get any worse.How it ends up that Mike is given another chance when he's sent back to 1989, isn't nearly as clever as "Big's" mechanical gypsy -- a Santa Claus-esque janitor suddenly appears and it's Mike's attempt to save the man's life that propels the sad sack into a whirling tunnel of water. Moviegoers are given the obligatory teen in a baggy man's suit who is totally confused about his new lack of chest hair.But it's Efron's true believability as a dad caught up in pubescent angst that keeps this movie from sinking. Add to that some very funny pop culture references (Scarlet now thinks the new teenager on the block is actually in search of an older woman, a la the cougar, and the new Mike thinks dressing in bedazzled Ed Hardy gear will make him cool at his new school).A hilarious subplot that focuses on Ned, who courts the high-school principal (Melora Hardin, Jan on "The Office") after posing as the new kid's father, drags on a bit. But Lennon as a man-child with an undying passion for the worlds of science fiction, fantasy and comic books, and who speaks Elvish, steals many a scene. A memorabilia fight using lightsabers is sure to become a collectible movie moment for obsessed "Star Wars" geeks.With "17 Again," Efron proves he's more than the David Cassidy of the 21st century and possesses more acting depth than his usual role as a Disney poster boy. "17 Again" is likely to open up new acting doors for Efron. Someone somewhere is probably already considering him for a role in a revamp of "The Graduate." You heard it here first.
(out of four)That story, again? A middle-aged man (we've seen it with a women in the role, too), gets taken back to their younger days so he can see what life would have been like had they appreciated their blessings.The comedy "17 Again" is "Big" again. "17 Again" is "13 Going on 30" again. "17 Again" is "18 Again." But the good news is, "17 Again" also has Zac Efron, who somehow makes this retread of a movie seem fresh.The movie opens on a basketball court with a shirtless Efron, no doubt purposely planted to make the teen idol's fans swoon. Efron plays Mike O'Donnell, who isn't only a star on the high school basketball court, but one of the most popular boys in school. He has everything going for him, a college basketball scout in the stands, and a beautiful girlfriend named Scarlet (Allison Miller). When Scarlet shows up at the game to tell him they are expecting a baby, his hoop hopes exit out the gymnasium door, along with his college scholarship.Almost 20 years later, Mike (Matthew Perry) works at a pharmaceutical company and drives a Ford Taurus. His teenagers barely speak to him and his marriage to Scarlet (Leslie Mann) has fallen apart. His divorce is looming and he's moved in with high-school nerd-turned-uber-billionaire Ned (Thomas Lennon). He also gets passed over for a promotion at work for a new hire, a giddy twentysomething blonde girl. Mike's days couldn't get any worse.How it ends up that Mike is given another chance when he's sent back to 1989, isn't nearly as clever as "Big's" mechanical gypsy -- a Santa Claus-esque janitor suddenly appears and it's Mike's attempt to save the man's life that propels the sad sack into a whirling tunnel of water. Moviegoers are given the obligatory teen in a baggy man's suit who is totally confused about his new lack of chest hair.But it's Efron's true believability as a dad caught up in pubescent angst that keeps this movie from sinking. Add to that some very funny pop culture references (Scarlet now thinks the new teenager on the block is actually in search of an older woman, a la the cougar, and the new Mike thinks dressing in bedazzled Ed Hardy gear will make him cool at his new school).A hilarious subplot that focuses on Ned, who courts the high-school principal (Melora Hardin, Jan on "The Office") after posing as the new kid's father, drags on a bit. But Lennon as a man-child with an undying passion for the worlds of science fiction, fantasy and comic books, and who speaks Elvish, steals many a scene. A memorabilia fight using lightsabers is sure to become a collectible movie moment for obsessed "Star Wars" geeks.With "17 Again," Efron proves he's more than the David Cassidy of the 21st century and possesses more acting depth than his usual role as a Disney poster boy. "17 Again" is likely to open up new acting doors for Efron. Someone somewhere is probably already considering him for a role in a revamp of "The Graduate." You heard it here first. Copyright 2009, Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
