On DVD and Blu-ray: “17 Again”

17 Again is now available on DVD and Blu-ray and before you dismiss this film, I urge you to give it a chance.  I assumed that it was going to be a lot like Big or Vice Versa but the plot actually ended up being pretty decent.

Zac Efron stars as 17-year-old Mike O’Donnell, a high school senior who seems to have it all – he’s the school’s basketball star, it looks like he’s going to be drafted, he’s popular and he has a great girlfriend.  Everything changes, however, when he finds out that she’s pregnant.  He walks away from the most important game of his life to be with her and he convinces her to marry him.  It looks like they might live happily ever after until the movie fast-forwards to years later when things aren’t going so well.

Mike and his wife, Scarlett (Leslie Mann), are filing for divorce and his kids, daughter Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight), practically hate him.  As if that isn’t bad enough, he’s passed over for a major promotion at his job.  Faced with the reality of the situation, Mike moves in with his best friend, Ned (Thomas Lennon) but it’s not long before Mike’s wish of going back to high school and doing it all over again comes true.  Will he make the same choices?

I’ve got to say that Efron does a better job than I was expecting, Matthew Perry (who I hoped was making a comeback as the adult version of Mike in this film) gets shafted with a teeny part and Lennon basically steals the show with his over-the-top behavior (that picture on the right is from inside Ned’s house!!!).

Plus, it’s nice to see an adult get the chance to go back to high school and say all of the things they should have said to bullies, classmates and teachers.  I wish I could do it!

images: WB