What were you like at 17? (17 Again (DVD))

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	17 Again (DVD)
Date:	13/07/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: funny

Disadvantages: corny

Watching a film on the recommendation of my mum isn't likely to be the best course of action, but she couldn't sell '17 Again' any harder; she loved it. I knew (very vaguely) what it was about, and gave it a go.

Back in the 80s, Michael was a school student with everything at his finger-tips. At the basketball game where scouts were lookingto sign him up, Mike's girlfriend tells him she's pregnant (bad timing or what?) Leaving the game, Mike chooses her over the sport (oh how romantic).

Twenty years later, Mike is an unhappy office worker who wishes he made a different choice, and in Tom Hanks-a-la-Big style, he becomes '17 again', and gets to re-live the childhood he walked away from. The only problem is he can't make up his mind whether his destiny is to get into the basketball league or help out his needy son and daughter who go to the same school.

There's a real 'Disney' vibe about this film, which borders on cheesy and corny. It doesn't help that the Mr America Zak Effron stars, with cheesy grins the whole way through.

Still, in its favour, a haggard looking Matthew Perry (Chandler from Friends) plays the older Mike, and there are some other interesting adult characters too.

The film is an interesting mix of corniness and funny. There are some really funny bits where Mike is protecting his daughter from her boyfriend, and the 'adult trapped in a boy's body' stuff gets close to the wire when he tries to hit on his ex-wife.

The film seems to lack clarity as to what it is: rom-com, adventure, comedy? I'm still not sure. It's certainly pitched at the early teen market, but offers some interest for the rest of us if you can overlook the corny Disney-esque-ness, and just enjoy the story and character relationships.

Acting is basic but good enough for such a film, and the pace is a little slow at times. I suppose I would only recommend it to those with teenage kids - it's worth taking them to, and you'll probably enjoy a fair bit of it yourself too.

Summary: worth a watch