17 Again (DVD)

.../> ==What Is It?==
17 Again, is the newest film from New Line Cinema. They have done such films as Lord of the Rings, Austin Powers and even the Blade trilogy. However this is a little bit of a different genre. 17 Again is really a teenage film starring one of the most famous teenagers in the world, Zac Efron. But he is not the only star, with Matthew Perry (Chandellar from Friends) and Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn, Buffy The Vampire Slayer) ...
...then going back to becoming 17 again? Efron is a fantastic actor in this, and I now love him!
Mike O'Donnell (37 Years Old) - Played by Matthew Perry. This is the first film I have seen him in, and it was great to see him on the big screen. He fantatically plays the bored and ever so slightly grumpy older Mike O'Donnell who is about to go through a divorce. His kids don't know him very much, his wife is fed up of him and he is struggling at ... more

I've not been that much of a fan of High School Musical, Hairspray or anything like that so hadn't really seen Zac Efron much. So when my pals all wanted to see this film, I wasn't that sure if I would like it or not. I've never been into teenage girly films that much, steering more to Harry Potter and Twilight. However I was pleasently surprised that this wasn't just an average teenage film, and wasn't annoying girls bitching and giggiling while the perfect man gets what he wants. This is a pretty heartfelt yet very funny film that does deliever (in disguise) a powerful message.

What Is It?

17 Again, is the newest film from New Line Cinema. They have done such films as Lord of the Rings, Austin Powers and even the Blade trilogy. However this is a little bit of a different genre. 17 Again is really a teenage film starring one of the most famous teenagers in the world, Zac Efron. But he is not the only star, with Matthew Perry (Chandellar from Friends) and Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn, Buffy The Vampire Slayer) just to name a few. This is going to be a big hit for the 7 to 18 year olds in particular.

Cast

Mike O'Donnell (17 Years Old) - Of course for every Zac Efron fan he is the main man. He plays the goregus talented Basketball player Mike O'Donnell who is dating one of the most beautiful girls at school. He is ambitiously wanting a basketball scholarship and to go and live with his girlfriend at college. However after he finds out she is pregnant, he is forced to make a difficult descion. However will he learn after an extra 20 years of life, and then going back to becoming 17 again? Efron is a fantastic actor in this, and I now love him!
Mike O'Donnell (37 Years Old) - Played by Matthew Perry. This is the first film I have seen him in, and it was great to see him on the big screen. He fantatically plays the bored and ever so slightly grumpy older Mike O'Donnell who is about to go through a divorce. His kids don't know him very much, his wife is fed up of him and he is struggling at work. Will he learn from his experience of being a 17 year old again?
Scarlett O'Donnell - Played by Leslie Mann, best known from comedies such as "Knocked Up" "Drillbit Taylor" and "The Forty Year Old Virgin". With a filmography like that you can see she is excellent for the role. She excellently and funnily plays Mikes wife and even though he character is a bit weird, she is funny throughout and is a very good actress.
Ned Gold - Played by Thomas Lennon, who is more famous for his screenwriting rather than his acting. He wrote the scripts for 'Night At The Museum' and 'Herbie Reloaded' to list a few. He has been in many smaller movie parts however this seems to be his biggest acting role so far. Ned is Mikes weird best friend who is fascinated by Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and computers. He claims to have invented some of the most famous software in the world and seems to be quite rich.
Michelle Trachtenberg - A growing American actress who plays the difficult/confused Maggie O'Donnell. I really enjoyed watching her as she was funny and acted simply like a teenager! She is best known for the 'Ice Princess' and 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'.

Plot

Mike O'Donnell (Efron) is a popular 17 year old who attends Hayden High School and playes Basketball for the team. His best friend Ned (Lennon) who is also on the team, has a tough time as he is a complete geek, and hates High School. O'Donnell has the beautiful girl and is going to get a scholarship to college. However at his 'Make or Break' match in which it would decide his future, he finds out his girlfriend Scarlett is pregnant.
20 years on, O'Donnell is married and has two children. However he is working somewhere he hates, his children don't appreciate him and he is in general bored of life. He is getting divorced and has to stay with his best friend Ned, who is now super rich after designing software.
O'Donnell goes back to his old high school to remind himself of the glory days. He forgets of course that his kids go there as well who are embarressed to see him there. He feels like his kids don't appreciate him and wishes he could just go back in time and change what happened. The School janitor starts to 'follow' him about and as O'Donnell is driving home, he sees him looking like he is going to jump off a bridge. He disappears behind a truck, with Mike thinking he fell. He goes over the ledge and falls into a vortex.
We next see him covered in mud, and having to take a shower. Although his clothes are a bit loose, oh wait he is 17 Again! And it is Zac Efron IN THE SHOWER!!!
After a humerous fight between Ned and him, they figure out using Neds odd books, that his spirit guide is wanting him to become 17 again, to realise something. However they don't know what he has to realise.
They reach a new problem though, and decide to enroll Mike into school. Ned acts as his dad and after flirting with the principle (who like him is addicted to Star Wars etc!) This allows Mike to see what new teenage life is all about like how to dress 'cool' and of course finding out and discovering more about his children.
However as he becomes best friends with his own son, he discovers more about his wife, in hiliarious scenes. But will Mike be able get back to being 37 again, but more importantly learn and remember what teenage life is like and about how much he loves his wife? You will have to watch it to find out.

Is It Funny?

I have to be honest, this is one of the funniest films I've seen in a while. I was slightly surprised as you wouldn't expect a cast like this to have a VERY funny film, just a couple of fairly good gags. However this fast paced film kept it coming in scenes, and it used new material, yet it was only observational comedy a lot of the time. What I would say is it is more teenage comedy, as it is a very up-to-date film it wouldn't be that funny to the 'older' generation. This would be funniest for younger people. So yes this is a really funny film.

Soundtrack

I LOVED the sound track. It is really bouncy, young and fitted excellently with the film. It featured songs from the Kooks, Ying Yang Twins and even Kool&The Gang! I was so thrilled especially when I heard the Kooks as they are one of my favourite bands. What the soundtrack cleverly did was not go for the cheesy teenage music (Like i've seen other films do!) But instead went for high quality, well written songs which went fantastic with the storyline and scenes. I thought about actually downloading the soundtrack from iTunes, which I might do actually after writing this, but the music selected was very good, and nothing at all bad about it!

Overall

This is a very fresh new film which is great as a Spring Blockbuster. I really enjoyed the storyline and was laughing a lot and almost in tears in other parts. The emotional jolts to the viewer make this film very memorable. Ok it isn't very exciting, however it is the perfect teenage film. I would highly recommend it to see in the cinema, or even when it came out on DVD. This would be fantastic for children and teenagers and even young adults, who are the target market. I'm not a fan of teenage films however this is one I would watch again.

I give this film 5 Stars * * * * *
It is BRILLIANT!

Copyright of Scotlandizdabest 2009 on Ciao.co.uk 

...less