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In "It's a Wonderful Life," George Bailey gets the chance to see what Bedford Falls would be like if he had never been born. His guide is an angel, second-class, named Clarence.
In the comic fantasy "17 Again," Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry) is given the chance to be a teen again, thanks to a white-haired janitor who magically appears near the trophy case in his old high school.
Relishing a return to his glory days, 37-year-old Mike admits, "Of course I want to live in the past. It was better there." And, oddly, he is not from Pittsburgh.
Through a leap off a bridge, a la "Wonderful Life," and some Hollywood hocus-pocus, Mike is 17 again.
The first time around, in 1989, he was a happy, hotshot basketball star (played by Zac Efron), one game away from a full college scholarship. He abandons that when he learns his girlfriend is pregnant, declaring, "You and me, we're in this together ... The baby's my future."
As were a second child, a dead-end sales job and a marriage that sinks into resentment and disappointment. Mike and his wife, Scarlet (Leslie Mann), are about to divorce as the story opens, and Mike is bunking with Ned (Thomas Lennon), his nerdy high school pal turned billionaire bachelor.
- Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew Perry
- Rating: PG-13 for language, some sexual material and teen partying
- Web site: 17againmovie.com
The movie kicks into gear when Mike becomes 17 again, calling himself Mark and pretending to be Ned's son and enrolling at his alma mater. After a bizarre and blessedly brief period taking his fashion cues from Kevin Federline, Mark becomes the Zac all the girls know and swoon over -- dreamy hair, white T-shirt, jeans, leather jacket.
Mark/Mike learns some disturbing facts about his children, now his classmates, and befriends his wife, who is struck by his resemblance to her husband as a teen. "17 Again" gives Mike a second chance at life, but not in the way he imagined, although in one most of the audience could.
In addition to taking a page from the Christmas classic, "17 Again" borrows from "Back to the Future" and all the fantasies, body-swapping movies and comedies about instant adulthood (Tom Hanks in "Big") or giddy return to youth (George Burns in "18 Again").
In scenes involving the 17-year-old and his daughter or wife, the movie wobbles very close to the creepy-icky line. And just to make sure we know they know, characters note how inappropriate that is.
Directed by Burr Steers (the dark coming-of-age comedy "Igby Goes Down") and written by Jason Filardi ("Bringing Down the House"), "17 Again" makes perfect use of Efron's youthful appearance, his physical charms and his underrated acting ability. An emotional, teary-eyed scene proves he's more than a pretty face.
Still, it's only mildly funny and ends abruptly with one important story thread or reveal left hanging. As a devoted fan of "Friends," I was disappointed that Perry was given so little to do but Lennon's Ned and Melora Hardin's school principal nearly steal the picture as a pair of sci-fi geeks.
"17 Again" may not be terribly original, but it will remind tweens that their parents were lovesick or bullied once, too, and as Mike wisely says, "When you're young, everything feels like the end of the world. It's not; it's just the beginning."
