If fans of Zac Efron (particularly young girls) watch this movie thinking they’re going to see him as they did in the “High School Musical” films and “Hairspray” they’re in for a major disappointment.
“17 Again” is about a 37 year old husband and father who’s about to get a divorce, has two kids who don’t like him and hates his job. He wishes he could go back to high school and live his senior year over again. And he gets his wish. Efron plays the man as the teen age boy.
The first thing I need to say is that “17 Again” is rated PG-13 for a reason. It includes inappropriate scenes, language and subject matter. Parents need to be warned before they buy/rent to this movie for their kids or let them see it at Amber’s house.
And that’s not the only reason not to see “17 Again.” The movie isn’t very good. The plot is so predictable, because it’s a rip-off of so many other films, including “Big” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s not funny at all, nor clever and the acting, overall, is just O.K.
I feel bad for Efron. While I’m sure he got paid a lot of money to do this movie, it’s a bad role and he gets no support from the weak script. Very disappointing.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “17 Again” gets a D. Hopefully Efron will start selecting better movies to be involved with. He’s got a great future, but not if he gets into too many more films like this one.
Lights Camera Jackson (a.k.a. Jackson Murphy) began his career as a film critic/entertainment reporter in 2006 at the age of 7. Jackson has written nearly 1,000 reviews of new releases. All together he has seen more than 1,500 films. In 2010, Jackson became the youngest person to win a NY Emmy Award, for his on-air movie reviews on Time Warner TV station, Capital News 9.