17 Again: Review By Chad Langen

Do you ever wish you could go back in time and alter those few decisions that have undoubtedly had a grave impact on your current life? In "17 Again", that's more or less what the central character is granted the opportunity to do. If this concept sounds familiar it's because it has been recycled seemingly countless times over the years and as with nearly every previous movie this picture derives its material from, it lacks a plausible explanation for its time warping scenarios.

In Zac Efron's first breakout starring role, he's forced to make a rebound from the painful script that would otherwise send viewers running in the other direction had it not been for the actor's unseen talent that finally comes to surface after long lived career of Disney sing-alongs (aka "High School Musical"). Hell, Efron even manages to outshine Matthew Perry who's suppose to resemble an older version of the character (yeah, the casting director did a tremendous job with that). Of course, that's not to say Perry kicks back on the clock. While the actor's never been known for his abilities to draw in a crowd, his performance here is surprisingly engrossing and his immaturity is for once necessary.

Either director Burr Steers and writer Jason Filardi were pure geniuses or just incredibly lucky, but they're trading places product is a success for one reason and one reason only. It's geared at an age group that have most likely never heard of film's such as "18 Again" or "Big, Vice Versa, Like Father, Like Son" thus they assume Hollywood is on top of their A-game, which in this case is originality.

Unoriginality aside, "17 Again" is a fun, sappy coming-of-age flick that manages to raise a few chuckles in the midst of its hour and a half runtime. It's nice to witness a comedy in which the whole family can enjoy rather than sitting through yet another Seth Rogen flick that oozes with lame sex jokes and continuous drug use that has grown rather tiresome over the last few years. I never thought I would say it, but Zac Efron scores a winning basket!

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