by Jay Bamber

Created on: July 11, 2009   Last Updated: July 13, 2009

Mike O'Donnell's life has not turned out as he planned; he is going no-where in his job, is in the midst of a heart-breaking divorce and has become completely disconnected from his children. He dreams about the days when he was a high school jock with the whole world at his feet...... a time when he was about to be signed as a professional basket-ball star and had the looks and life that others longed for. At 17 he threw it away for the love of Scarlet, his now ex wife, but after some magical intervention he gets to be re-born as his 17 year old self and live his life the way he wants. But when he discovers that his children are having a hard time at school and the things he wanted are not all that they seem, he is forced to re-evaluate his views on family, values and the past.

17 Again follows the well worn formulae of countless other body-swap comedies.... and whilst it doesn't match the genre high of Tom Hank's classic Big or the surprising charm offensive that was Jennifer Garner's 13 Going On 30 it stands its own as a sweet, funny and heartfelt story about growing up, respecting those close to you and the power of the past. It manages to tap into a universal nostalgia which lends it a poignancy which it perhaps does not deserve and the whole thing is ably bolstered by a talented and energetic cast. Sadly, it never does anything particularly surprising and it is clearly an exercise in making Zac Efron a truly bankable Hollywood leading man but thanks to a few directorial flourishes and a nicely judged screenplay it actually (well kind of) works. And there are definitely worse things that your kids could drag you to see.....

One of the reasons that this genre is so popular is the fact that it opens up plenty of opportunity for both great physical comedy and wistful poignancy, a mix which if done right is particularly compelling. And here they almost manage to pull it off, with the screenplay showing heaps of potential, but just falling short. Jason Filardi writes with a certain amount of grace and wit and does a good job of bringing some true emotion to the proceedings with a few nicely written snippets of dialogue and a particularly affecting Court-room sequence. But in his attempts to rush to some sort of happy ending he spreads the story too thinly; the conclusion feels rushed and tacked on and by trying to appeal to all demographics he neglects any sort of quirk or edge that would have truly made it stand out. It is funny in fits and starts (although

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