A high school dramedy/body swap flick with heart
A dispirited 37 year-old man (Matthew Perry) is about to lose his wife and high school sweetheart. Through a "spirit-guide" (Brian Doyle-Murray) he is miraculously able to become, you guessed it, 17 again. His younger self is played by Zac Efron, who's actually the star of the movie. Leslie Mann plays his soon-to-be former wife while Thomas Lennon appears as his geeky best friend. Sterling Knight & Michelle Trachtenberg are on hand as his kids struggling through the teen years. Melora Hardin plays the attractive principal while Nicole Sullivan has a glorified cameo.
"17 Again" (2009) is magic from beginning to end, with few missteps. It's both a high school dramedy and a second chance fantasy. There are elements of films like "Back to the Future" (1986) and "Peggy Sue Got Married" (1986), but the uniqueness here is that the protagonist doesn't go back in time, but rather stays in the current day and appears to his family & friends as 17 years-old, even though he's really 37. With one exception, no one knows who he really is.
Efron, who was only 21 during filming, easily carries the film while Mann is one of the most winsome women to walk the Earth. Lennon's amusing character is akin to the Big Bang Theory guys. Best of all, the film has heart, effectively conveying the triumphs and tragedies of the high school experience in all its glory and awkwardness. I know it's clichéd, but "you'll laugh, you'll cry."
The movie runs 1 hour, 42 minutes, and was shot in Santa Monica (Hayden High School), Van Nuys & Los Angeles, California. The script was written by Jason Filardi.
GRADE: A-