by Massie Twins

Created on: May 01, 2009

On the surface, Mike O'Donnell is a lot like Troy Bolton, another Zac Efron character (from High School Musical 3). Both play high school basketball, and both are torn over two passions in their lives. Unlike Troy Bolton, however, Mike O'Donnell struggles with issues much deeper and more resonant than a choice between basketball and musical theater; through divine intervention, he faces a choice between reliving his life and continuing down the path he has been on for twenty years. Mike is the main character of "17 Again," a lighthearted but surprisingly good film that examines life's issues with a mixture of humor and warmth. Part of the charm comes from the nave and idealistic nature of the story-virtually nothing that happens is remotely possible, but we're engaged just the same, and that's because most people wish they had the chance to do something over again.

Back in 1989, when Mike was still a seventeen-year-old high school student, he walked away from a Basketball scholarship to be with his girlfriend, Scarlett (Allison Miller). Today, Mike is a thirty-seven-year-old loser (Matthew Perry). He has emotionally checked out of his marriage. Scarlett (Leslie Mann) wants a divorce, and his teenage children, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight), want nothing to do with him. He loses a promotion to an inexperienced girl no older than twenty-five. He has been kicked out of the house, forcing him to stay with his nerdy best friend, a rich software designer named Ned (Thomas Lennon), who Mike protected from bullies back in high school. Depressed and rejected, Mike is reduced to wandering the halls of his former high school and staring into a display case at his old picture.

Along comes a pleasant-sounding janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray), who conveniently disappears whenever anyone else shows up. If given the chance, he asks Mike, would he want to relive his seventeenth year and make different decisions? Mike says he would. Not long after, Mike drives across a bridge in a freak rainstorm and sees the janitor jump over the railing. Mike rushes to the edge, sees a bizarre whirlpool of light at the bottom, and falls in.

After returning to Ned's place the next morning, Mike is shocked to discover that he has been transformed into his seventeen-year-old self. Ned, quite familiar with fantasy archetypes, suggests that Mike has been changed in order to go on the proverbial hero's journey. Thinking this means another chance at a future in basketball, Mike

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>