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17 Again

Along with the MPAA ratings we’ve all come to learn and ignore over the years, I’ve always felt that there should be one to warn adults away from movies that aren’t intended for anyone over the age of 16.

Of course you could argue that the mere presence of Zac Efron as the star of 17 Again, a movie I would nominate for such a rating, implies that no one over the age of majority would even consider looking at it. But as a non-breeder I have never seen a film with Master Efron, and was thus able to approach this movie with some degree of objectivity. (I understand that those parents who have had to share living space with children who don’t believe it’s possible to watch any of the High School Musical entries too many times may feel otherwise.) For the most part he isn’t bad, except when he rachets up his Tom Cruise impression to full strength. The movie itself, though, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, is déjà vu all over again. Matthew Perry appears (too briefly) as Mike O’Donnell, who has spent his life blaming his failures on a decision he made in high school. At his low point he wishes he could be 17 again, at which point Perry turns into Efron and the movie begins to relentlessly regurgitate bits from Back to the Future, It’s a Wonderful Life, Peggy Sue Got Married, Freaky Friday, Big, and a lot of other movies I could name if I didn’t have a word limit. The best thing in the movie is the dependably funny Thomas Lennon as adult Mike’s nerdy best friend. His scenes aside, 17 Again is a sloppily scripted bit of sentimentality in which high school is depicted as a place where kids do nothing but play sports and make out. Although if this was what high school was like for scripter Jason Filardi (Bringing Down the House), the failure of any time learning the fundamentals of mathematics would explain why a pregnancy that took place 20 years ago seems to have resulted in a 17-year-old child (played by a 23-year-old actress). 17 Again will probably fare reasonably well with its target audience, who won’t have seen many if any of the movies this one reworks so brazenly. But it’s a particular disappointment coming from director Burr Steers, whose first film, 2002’s Igby Goes Down, was one of the few of the past decade to do something interesting with teen characters.

m. faust


Watch the trailer for 17 Again




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