Monday's Movie-17 Again

A Novel Menagerie asks us to post about a movie that you watched the week before. We usually watch quite a few movies over the weekend and it is sometimes difficult to only discuss one.

The movie that I was pleasantly surprised with this weekend was 17 Again.

Here are the details from the film:

Genre: Comedy

Starring: Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Matthew Perry

Runtime: 1 hr, 42 mn

MPAA Rating: PG13

Here is a summary of the movie from the MSN Movie website:

A former high school basketball star gets a second shot at life when he's miraculously transformed into a teenager and offered the opportunity to redefine his future. Back in 1989, Mike O' Donnell (Matthew Perry) had it all; not only was the 17-year-old senior the king of the basketball court, but college scouts were circling as well. But just as Mike's future began to glow brighter than ever before, he sacrificed everything in order to stay by his expectant girlfriend, Scarlet, and be a good father. Nearly 20 years later, Mike has just been passed over for a big promotion at work, his marriage is failing, and his teenage kids can't stand him. His dreams long gone and his family falling apart, Mike takes to staying with his best friend, Ned (Thomas Lennon), a former high school geek-turned-techno billionaire. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Mike is transported back into his teenage body and given the given the unique opportunity to relive his salad days. But while Mike may look 17 again, his thirtysomething outlook at life puts him hopelessly at odds with the class of 2009. When Mike discovers that by attempting to recapture his best years he could risk losing all the best things he ever experienced in life, the time comes to make a decision that could have a drastic impact on both his past and his future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

My Movie Thoughts:

What a funny and enjoyable movie this turned out to be. Since I have an eighteen year old daughter in my household, Zac Efron is not a name that is new to me. But I must admit that I haven't really given this young man a second thought. As the movie begins, Mike is married with two kids at home and is starting to question the decisions that he made that originated during his senior year of high school. Mike is suddenly immersed back into his seventeen year old body, but the year is still 2009. He starts attending school with the class of 2009 and finds that he gets to learn a little more about what his kids are doing during their school days. He has an opportunity to help both his son and daughter, while they think of him as one of their peers, rather than a father. Things get a little intense when he finds himself trying to control his emotions when he is in the presence of his wife (but trying to act as just a friend to his son), and when his daughter (remember that she thinks he is just a new kid in school) starts to think a relationship could develop between them. During this time, Mike has time to re-evaluate his priorities in life and try to make things right again. This was a fun movie and was enjoyed by the entire family so I will give this 4 out of 5 bags of popcorn.