17 Again Review
By Karen Dahlstrom
Not "Again"
Once a genre thought lost to the ages (or at least to the 80s), the body/age switching movie is back. Like its variants, "Freaky Friday", "Big" and the similarly-titled "18 Again", "17 Again" is the story of a man who transforms into his teenaged self in order to change his life for the better. Unfortunately, he's the only one better after the film is over. Looking past the brightness of the film's talented young star, "17 Again" has a mean spirit and a mixed message wrapped in a candy-colored package.
In 1989, Mike O'Donnell seemed to have it all. A high school basketball star beloved by the entire school and by his girlfriend, Scarlett, with college scouts lining up to sign him. But when Scarlett announces she's pregnant just moments before the Big Game, Mike throws away his dreams of college stardom to marry her. Fast forward to now (or nowish, as math is apparently not the writer's strong suit): Mike (Matthew Perry) is a 30-something drug salesman, estranged from Scarlett (Leslie Mann), ignored by his teenaged kids and passed over for promotion at a job he's worked for 16 years. Misery hangs on him like the cocktail bags under Perry's eyes. His life in a shambles, he hides out in the apartment of his nerdy friend, Ned (Thomas Lennon) while blaming Scarlett for forcing him to throw his life away.
After that rather depressing setup, we find Mike visiting his old high school to recapture the glory days of his youth. And, as often happens in these age-reversal movies, a chance encounter with a mysterious figure (in this case, a janitor, played by a Santa-bearded Brian Doyle-Murray) results in Mike's mystical transformation back to his 17-year old self. With the aid of his best friend, Ned — a level 12 sci-fi geek — they determine Mike has been given a giant "do-over" by a spirit guide to set him on the right path. Believing his path is to fix his past mistakes, Mike re-enrolls in his old high school, posing as Ned's son. He soon finds that high school isn't as perfect as he remembers.
Playing Mike as a teenager is a young actor by the name of Zac Efron. Perhaps you've heard of him. After singing, dancing and playing basketball in Disney's "High School Musical" franchise, young Efron leaves the musical behind to stretch out in a role where he...dances and plays basketball. Okay, so he's not ready for Ibsen just yet, but Efron has an undeniably charming screen presence, as millions of tweens can attest. He is, indeed, prettier than his female co-stars, with a kind of non-threatening sexuality that's both utilized and poked fun at in the film. But Efron proves he actually has some acting chops, too, particularly in a scene where he cuts down a school bully in a Cyrano-style barrage of quips and ball-handling skills (insert your own joke here). In fact, the most enjoyable thing about the film is Efron's exuberant, buoyant performance. Without him, "17 Again" is a mediocre, misogynistic offering that looks down upon the very audience it wishes to court.
Considering the predominately young, female audience of this film, it's disappointing that writer Jason Filardi ("Bringing Down the House") and director Burr Steers ("
Igby Goes Down") would present a film that is so contemptuous toward its female characters. While Mike and Ned's states of perpetual arrested development are condoned if not celebrated, the women are portrayed as vacuous, bitter or completely lacking in self worth. The adult Scarlett, desperate for positive male attention, is nearly seduced by the young Mike (posing as her son's friend). Their daughter, too, falls for Mike after a few kind words thrown her way in the wake of her breakup with her bullying boyfriend. As unsavory as both scenarios are, the worst is when a young classmate offers herself to Mike with the promise, "you don't even have to remember my name." The only female character with any sense of self is that of the school principal, Jane Masterson (Melora Hardin of "The Office"). But she is an ice queen, a ballbuster. Ned pursues her, stalker-like, with a relentlessness meant to wear her down, which he eventually does.
The issue of sexuality permeates throughout the entire film, in an particularly creepy way. The fact that Efron's character is sexually active is a little difficult to take, considering his Ken doll-like appearance and Disney-fication over the past few years. The sexual tension between the adult Scarlett and the teenaged Mike is also disconcerting, if borderline illegal, not to mention the close encounter with his lusty daughter, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg). Throw in an abstinence speech during a sex ed class plus Mike's encouragement of his son's wooing of the head cheerleader and you have a very mixed message indeed.
As a proving ground for Zac Efron's star power, "17 Again" does its job. Efron is the real deal (like it or not), capable of carrying an entire film on his shoulders. As a family film, it definitely fails. Scratch the surface and there's worms underneath its sweet coating. Say what you will about today's youth, but they deserve to be treated a little better.
