I owe Zac Efron an apology. You see, I've never seen anything Mr. Efron has been in, yet I've always passed judgment on his acting skills.
Mr. Efron, this comes from the bottom of my heart: "I'm sorry, you are good at your craft and have the potential to one day be great."
You see dear readers, I was wrong. I thought this supposed child star was nothing more than a one trick pony. A soulless child who was being hoisted up by movie producers in order to get more money out of little girls and their parents' pocket books.
And maybe some of that is indeed true, but what is shocking is that this kid actually delivers. He has the potential to be a huge star. And maybe he already is.
"17 Again" is the story of 37-year-old Mike O'Donnell, a man who has lived a life full of regrets. When he suddenly reverts back to his 17-year-old self (played by Efron), he looks to his best friend Ned (played by Thomas Lennon) to help him navigate high school in order to help out teenage children.
"17 Again" on paper is not a good film. We've seen the "body swap/go back in time" story before. But Efron along with Thomas Lennon somehow found a way to elevate the material to new heights and create characters and situations that are a joy to watch. The chemistry between the two actors is really good, and makes the unbelievable situation that much more realistic.
Thomas Lennon's Ned character is pretty much an exaggerated version of me, if I ever became rich. I'm already dreaming about having my own Star Wars land speeder bed.
The filmmakers smartly took enough time out to focus on Lennon's character and his plight to land a date with the High School Principal played by Melora Hardin. Some of the funniest scenes involve these two characters.
Obviously the highlight here is Efron, so some of the supporting characters don't get nearly enough attention (particularly Michelle Trachtenberg and Sterling Knight as the children.)
Leslie Mann always does a great job, and she makes use of what little screen time she has. She is in what could easily be the worst scenes of the film, yet somehow makes it watchable.
Speaking of screen time, I'm shocked that Matthew Perry even wanted to appear in this film. He is in it for all of 10 minutes. The paycheck must've been nice.
The film itself might fall apart on repeat viewings, as some of the dialogue is really clunky, but it's definitely worth checking out at least once.
2 and a half buckets.
