This film begins with seventeen-year-old Mike O’Donnell (Zac Efron) shelving his dreams of going to college on a basketball scholarship in order to support and marry his pregnant girlfriend, Scarlet (Allison Miller). While this is an extremely romantic (and, arguably, morally commendable) gesture, it is apparently not a strong enough foundation upon which to build a marriage and a life.
It's Not a Wonderful Life
Eighteen or twenty years later (the film is unclear on exactly how much time has passed), the couple is separated and in the early stages of divorce. As if that is not bad enough, Mike (now Matthew Perry) misses out on a promotion at work that he has been working toward for sixteen years. In a fit of depression, Mike goes back to Hayden High School, where it all went wrong all those years ago. There, he meets a kindly old janitor (Brian Doyle Murray) who (surprise!) is not at all what he seems to be. In a scene overly reminiscent of It’s a Wonderful Life, Mike falls off of a bridge while attempting to save the janitor. When Mike emerges from the water, he has been miraculously transformed back into his seventeen-year-old self (Zac Efron).
As can be expected, many high-jinks are carried out and a massive web of lies is formed as Mike tries to convince his family that he is “Mark Gold,” the illegitimate child of his best friend Ned Gold (Thomas Lennon), while simultaneously trying to convince them that they still need him (as his thirty-sevenish self) in their lives.
Only Ned Strikes Comedic "Gold"
Though the film is only an hour and forty-three minutes long, the audience will feel as if it lasts for an eternity. The storyline has been used hundreds of times before, and none of the characters seem to have any real chemistry with each other. Although the movie is labeled as a “comedy,” it is anything but funny. Teenage pregnancy, divorce, crushing depression, and borderline pedophilia do not combine is a way that could lift any movie-goer’s spirit.
Surprisingly, the one bright spot in this otherwise dark, dull film is the awkwardly adorable budding relationship between Mike’s best friend Ned Gold and the principal of Hayden High, Jane Masterson (Melora Hardin). It is unusual for secondary (perhaps even tertiary) characters to have such an appeal to the audience, and the movie would have been improved by adding in a few more scenes featuring this unlikely pair.
Missing Matthew Perry
Zac Efron’s portrayal of Mike O’Donnell is unexpectedly good, but the version of Mike O’Donnell that Matthew Perry plays is not onscreen long enough for the character to develop, or for the audience to form a connection with him. With Matthew Perry's diverse comedic background, it is a shame that he was not given a chance to showcase his talent and prove to the audience that Mike O'Donnell is worth caring about.
Overall, 17 Again is a mediocre film that is a poor imitation of a dozen other films (It’s a Wonderful Life, to name one). The audience would be better off watching one of the movies that it is based on instead.
Jessica Scott - Jessica Scott is currently an English Major at the University of Louisville. She has been reading and writing since the age of three, and ...
