17 AGAIN: Its Big and 13 Going on 30......Backwards!
Written: May 08 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: See below
Cons: See above
The Bottom Line: If only I was 17 again......
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| cripper's Full Review: 17 Again |
After a particularly stressful week at work for myself and postgraduate assignments for my fiancee, we both decided to treat ourselves to a night out which did not involve any sort of serious intellectual stimulation. So after dinner, I had the great idea to go to the cinema to watch a film. So we did and decided with my fiancee to see 17 Again.
Its 1989.
Michael O'Connell (Zac Efron) is the best player on his high school basketball team and friends with Ned Gold (Tyler Steelman), the high school dork. He is about to play the game that will determine his future: a scout from Ohio State has come to see his game. After showing off his six-pack during his warm-up and taking part of his cheerleading squad's dance routine, Michael's girlfriend, Scarlett (Allison Miller), tells him a secret: a secret that will change his life forever.
For a moment, the audience are led to believe that we will never know the secret.
After leaving the basketball court a few seconds after the game has started and Scarlett runs out of the auditorium, Michael chases after Scarlett and it is revealed that Scarlett is pregnant with Michael's child. Michael commits his love to Scarlett and his dreams of receiving a basketball scholarship to college ends.
Now, fast forward to today.
The adult Michael (now played by Matthew Perry) has just woken up in Ned's home (who is now played by Thomas Lennon). We now learn that Michael is leading a terribly unhappy life and is about to divorce Scarlett (now played by Leslie Mann). His two children, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight), show little respect for him. And he has recently lost his job as a sales consultant in a pharmaceutical company.
Things cannot get worse surely.
Well, Michael starts seeing an imaginary janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray). Michael sees this janitor after reminiscing on those days as the high school basketball star. After seeing the janitor jump off a bridge on a particularly rainy day, Michael tries to look for the janitor but leans a little bit too far and falls over into the water below.
After arriving back at Ned's home, we soon realise Michael has mysteriously become himself as a teenager again. Coming to grips with what has happened and what he has been thinking, Michael, pretending to be Ned's illegitimate son Mark, tries to turn his life around in the disguise as a high school kid.
Unlike films like Big and 13 Going on 30, where a young child wishes to be an adult, 17 Again explores the idea of rewinding back to those teenage years. Its interesting in the sense that whilst the aforementioned films focuses on the idea that a child enters into the adult body uncertain and unaware of what lies ahead of them, Michael goes back to a time that is familiar to him albeit in his children's generation as opposed to his own generation. Some of the film's funniest moments arise from a teenage Michael's attempt at playing adult, pushing for unpopular ideas among his school friends on topics such as abstinence.
Also, whilst it is an opportunity for Michael to relive life as a teenager, it is also an opportunity for Michael to correct the wrongs of his past. In school, Michael befriends Alex, who he soon learns is constantly the victim of the school's bully, Stan (Hunter Parrish), who unfortunately happens to be Maggie's boyfriend. Because Michael is now the same age as Alex, he seizes this opportunity to help develop his son's confidence in himself. He also tries to convince Maggie that giving up an opportunity to study at Georgetown for Stan is the wrong thing to do and, ironically, mirrors Michael's situation in high school where he dropped a college scholarship for love. Scarlett sees the changes in Alex and this also reignites Michael's love for Scarlett.
Whilst it is clear what the film aims to do, the film's plot is not really clear as to what has driven Michael to the state he is in. Sure, we understand that his life is in a terrible state and he wants his life to be back to the state it was in high school but it is never explained why his life has become as pathetic as it is. Other than preventing her from pursuing her dreams of becoming a landscaper and being a failure in general, we do not understand what has driven Scarlett to show disdain towards Michael. It is never, ever explained why the children hold such little respect towards their father. To me, there was a huge gap between what had happened in 1989 and what happened today and a lot of the information that should have been told to the audience is never, ever told in the film.
I also strongly disliked the little romantic subplot between Ned and the school principal, Ms. Masterson (Melora Hardin). I understand this was supposed to provide some comic relief to the film but, to me, it just ended up being annoying and quite unfunny.
Zac Efron does a solid job as the teenage Michael. I am not the biggest fan in the world of Mr. Efron but this role is made for him. He is able to play an adult through the body of a teenager relatively well. And one can clearly see why the girls love this guy. Leslie Mann also does a decent job as Scarlett. I love how Mann and Efron are able to develop their characters' relationship through scenes which can be described as deliciously awkward. This is portrayed particularly well when Efron portray's Michael's feelings to Mann's Scarlett. It is quite wrong for a high school child to fall in love with his best friend's mother. Right?
However this is just about the only character relationship that is remotely well-developed. Stan, the school bully and Maggie's boyfriend, has a couple of fights between Michael, who constantly embarrasses him in front of the school children. I would have liked to see a bit more development in this relationship as I thought this was a crucial part in the development of Alex's confidence in overcoming his moniker of victim of school bully. Scarlett's best friend, Nicole, who at first appears to have an important role in the film is almost disregarded as soon as she is introduced and I also thought this to be a bit strange.
Other than Efron and Mann, the only other performance worth noting is Matthew Perry's performance as the older Michael. Cast against type, Perry's Michael is a cynical, unhappy, tired-looking grump and low-life. The wrinkles from his saddened expression highlights this downward spiral in Michael's life perfectly. No other performances worth mentioning but I have to say Thomas Lennon's portrayal of Ned was not particularly good. He is supposed to be the comic relief of the film but instead all I saw was a lot of facial mugging and over-acting.
At 102 minutes, director Burr Steers is able to move this film at a reasonable pace and it never felt as if the film was dragging on for too long. Also, Steers injects enough comedy in the film to keep this moving.
Again, 17 Again is another one of those films that I am so, so tempted to give a rating lower than 3 stars. Again, it is one of those films I did end up enjoying and giving it anything lower than 3 stars would not show any indication of my enjoyment during the film. So, I guess, 17 Again is a good film to watch if you are looking for some light entertainment. Otherwise, its probably better not to see this one.
Thanks for reading the review.
Recommended:
Yes
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cripper
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Member: Chris Ying
Location: Sydney, Australia
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