Who Say's You're Only Young Once? (17 Again (DVD))

Member Name: durham_girl

Product:	17 Again (DVD)
Date:	01/09/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to watch, good cast

Disadvantages: A bit fluffy in places

Slightly shameful though it is to admit, I'm a closet High School Musical fan. There it is, out in the open! I loved Zac Efron in the film and then when I saw Hairspray where he did a great job of playing Link Larkin I was hooked!

For anybody that don't know, the plot revolves around Mike O'Donnell a disillusioned 35 year old whose life never quite reached the dizzy heights that everybody thought he would reach when he was in high school.

The film starts when Mike is in high school. He's star of the basketball team and dating his soulmate, Scarlett. Just before the big game Scarlett tell him that she's pregnant. He does what any respectable young man would do and leaves the game, even though college scouts are in the audience and asks her to marry him.

Fast forward 18 years and he's unhappy and resentful of Scarlett. He blames her for not being able to go to college and play pro basketball and the general state of his life. He is on the way home from his solicitors after trying to sort their divorce when he has a strange encounter with an old man. An encounter that leads him to wake up the following morning aged 17 again.

After convincing his best friend Ned of what's happened, they conclude that Mike has been given another chance at his life and he decides to do all the things he never did due to dropping out of school and marrying Scarlett. He enrols in High School, gets on the basketball team and generally becomes very popular. His kids Maggie and Alex are at the same school so he takes this opportunity to try and get to know them better. He befriends Alex who is being bullied by his Maggie's boyfriend and finds both of his kids have been lying to him in different ways.

So, does Mike find happiness the second time round? Does he miss what he had? Is there a resounding moral to the film? Well this is a Hollywood film, so draw your own conclusions!

I was really looking forward to seeing this film and I wasn't disappointed! Efron was perfectly cast in the role of the teen Mike O'Donnell, his acting style is cool and unhurried which fit Mike very well. After singing and dancing in all his big movies so far, this film shows he's not a one trick pony and is actually a good actor in his own right. Matthew Perry plays the older Mike O'Donnell. Although he's been extremely typecast after playing Chandler from Friends for so long, I think this was a good role for him. He's very likeable on screen and we see a more emotional side to him. I found no problems with the supporting cast either which include Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon and Michelle Trachtenberg.

Great if you're looking for a film that requires little thought, not a bad way to while away a couple of ours

It has a running time of 98 minutes which I felt was just right for the film. I hate it when you're counting the minutes till a film ends!

Cast

Zac Efron - Mike O'Donnell (Teen)
Leslie Mann - Scarlett O'Donnell (Adult)
Thomas Lennon - Ned Gold
Matthew Perry - Mike O'Donnell (Adult)
Sterling Knight - Alex O'Donnell
Michelle Trachtenberg - Maggie O'Donnell

DVD Special Features
- Breaking character outtakes
- Zac's Dance Flashback
- Theatrical trailer
- Unseen additional footage

I love watching special features and these weren't bad, I particularly like watching featurettes, but unfortunately there weren't any.

Summary: Good film to watch