17 Again is a 2009 American teen fantasy comedy film directed by Burr Steers. The film follows a 37-year-old man named Mike (Matthew Perry) who becomes his 17-year-old self (Zac Efron) after a chance accident. The film also stars Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Michelle Trachtenberg, Melora Hardin and Sterling Knightin supporting roles. The film was released in the United States on April 17, 2009. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $139 million.
Plot[]
n 1989, 17-year-old star athlete Mike O'Donnell's girlfriend Scarlet Porter tells him that she is pregnant, just moments before his likely scholarship-clinching high-school championship basketball game. Mike plays the first few seconds of the game, then walks off the court and goes after Scarlet, abandoning his hopes of going to college and achieving a career that could support their future. Twenty years later, 37-year-old Mike finds his life stagnant and boring, abandoning any project he starts. Scarlet, now his wife and mother of their two children, has filed for divorce, forcing him to move in with his geeky, yet extremely wealthy, but equally unhappy best friend, Ned Gold. He has quit his job after he is passed over for a promotion he believed he deserves, and his high-school-age kids, 18-year-old Maggie and 16-year-old Alex, want nothing to do with him. Later, while driving, an encounter on a bridge with a janitor transforms Mike back into his 17-year-old self.
After convincing Ned of his identity, Ned believes that Mike's transformation was caused by a mystical spirit guide who is trying to steer him on a better path. Mike enrolls in high school posing as Mark Gold, Ned's son, and plans to go to college on a basketball scholarship. As he befriends his bullied son and discovers that his daughter has a boyfriend, Stan, who does not respect her and frequently torments Alex, Mike comes to believe that his mission is to help them.
Through their kids, Mike spends time with Scarlet, who notes his remarkable resemblance to her husband, but rationalizes it as an odd coincidence. Deciding to also try and fix his relationship with Scarlet, Mike begins to finish (under the pretense of getting "volunteer credit") all of the garden projects he abandoned as an adult. He does his best to separate Stan and Maggie while also encouraging Alex to be more confident so he can make the basketball team and go out with a girl he has a crush on named Nicole. Mike has difficulty resisting his desire for Scarlet despite the relationship's clear inappropriateness. Ned, meanwhile, begins to pursue the school's principal Jane Masterson through increasingly extravagant stunts in order to win her affections, which she adamantly rebukes, though she agrees to a date after he offers to buy laptops for the school.
On their date, Jane is completely unimpressed with Ned until he drops the "sophisticated rich-guy" persona and admits he is actually a geek. Jane then reveals her own enthusiasm for geek culture by speaking to him in Elvish, and the two hit it off. Mike throws a party to celebrate a basketball game win at Ned's house while Ned is out with Jane, where he confronts Stan, who had recently dumped Maggie for not sleeping with him. Mike gets knocked out and wakes up to Maggie trying to seduce him. Mike tells his daughter that he is in love with someone else and Maggie leaves, much to Mike's relief. Scarlet arrives at the party worried about her kids attending, but Mike shows her that Alex has finally managed to get together with his crush. The two have an intimate conversation where Mike, caught up in the moment, tries to kiss her. Disgusted, she storms off as Mike tries unsuccessfully to explain his true identity.
On the day of the court hearing to finalize Scarlet and Mike's divorce, Mike makes one last attempt to win her back (as Mark) by reading a supposed letter from Mike. He states that although he couldn't set things right in the beginning of his life, it doesn't change the fact that he still loves her. After he exits, Scarlet notices that the "letter" is actually the directions to the courtroom, and she begins to grow curious. As a result, she postpones the divorce by a month. Frustrated that he could not salvage his marriage, Mike decides to once again pursue a scholarship and move on with a new life. During a high school basketball game, Mike reveals himself to Scarlet. As Scarlet runs away, Mike decides to chase her down, just like he did in 1989, but not before handing the ball off to his son. Mike is then transformed back into his 37-year-old self, and happily reunites with Scarlet, saying that she was the best decision he ever made.
As Mike prepares for his first day as the new basketball coach at his kids' school, Ned, who has successfully started a relationship with Jane, gifts him a whistle, both happy with their new starts in life.
Cast[]
- Matthew Perry / Zac Efron as Mike O'Donnell / Mark Gold: Perry portrays Mike at age 37, while Efron portrays Mike at age 17 in the opening flashback from 1989 and after Mike has undergone his magical transformation into posing as Mark Gold, son of his future friend Ned.
- Leslie Mann / Allison Miller as Scarlet O'Donnell: Mike's soon-to-be former wife and the mother of his children. Mann plays Scarlet as an adult and Miller plays Scarlet as a teen in the opening flashback from 1989.
- Thomas Lennon / Tyler Steelman as Ned Gold: Mike's best friend. Lennon plays the adult Ned, while Steelman portrays Ned in the opening flashback from 1989.
- Michelle Trachtenberg as Margaret Sarah "Maggie" O'Donnell: Mike and Scarlet's 18-year-old daughter. Her conception was the reason Mike chose to abandon his dreams and marry Scarlet. She dates Stan.
- Sterling Knight as Alex O'Donnell: Mike and Scarlet's 16-year-old son. He is harshly abused by Stan.
- Melora Hardin as Principal Jane Masterson: principal of the high school that Mike, Scarlet and Ned used to attend, and Maggie, Alex and "Mark" currently attends. She is also Ned's love interest.
- Hunter Parrish as Stan: Maggie's aggressive and toxic former boyfriend who bullies Alex even in his house.
- Nicole Sullivan as Naomi (pronounced "Nay-o-me"): Scarlet's best friend
- Kat Graham, Tiya Sircar and Melissa Ordway as Jamie, Samantha and Lauren: the three girls who are friends with Maggie, and constantly trying to flirt with "Mark".
- Brian Doyle-Murray as Janitor: the magical spirit guide who makes the transformation possible.
- Josie Loren as Nicole: the head cheerleader and Alex's crush.
- Jim Gaffigan as Coach Murphy: the high school basketball coach who has been there for 20 years.
- Margaret Cho as Mrs. Dell: a teacher
Trivia[]
- This film marks the final appearance of Matthew Perry before his death in October 2023. He had not returned to the big screen since 14 years.
- Zac Efron called Matthew Perry for help on his lines and mimicking some of his movements to give a more authentic performance.
- This film is a remake of the Disney television movie Young Again (1986), starring a very young Keanu Reeves in one of his earliest roles.
- The film has a similar title and premise to 18 Again! (1988) but is not acknowledged to be a remake. Also, this movie is a little different in that it has a 37-year-old becoming his 17-year-old self again, whereas 18 Again! (1988) has an 81-year-old man swapping bodies with his 18-year-old grandson.
- The film takes place between 1988 and 2007.
External links[]
17 Again (film) on Warnerbros.com
17 Again (film) at the Internet Movie Database
- 17 Again (film) at AllMovie
- 17 Again at the American Film Institute Catalog
- 17 Again at the TCM Movie Database
- 17 Again (film) at Box Office Mojo
- 17 Again (film) at Rotten Tomatoes
- 17 Again (film) at TV.com
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