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17 Again
EMAILPRINTNew Line Cinema (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 53 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by: Jason Filardi
Directed by: Burr Steers
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 17, 2009
DVD: August 11, 2009
Running Time: 102 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for language, some sexual material and teen partying
Starring Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Matthew Perry
Class of 1989, Mike O'Donnell is a star on the high school basketball court with a college scout in the stands and a bright future in his grasp. But instead, he decides to throw it all away to share his life with his girlfriend Scarlet and the baby he just learned they are expecting. Almost 20 years later, Mike's glory days are decidedly behind him. His marriage to Scarlet has fallen apart, he has been passed over for a promotion at work, his teenage kids think he is a loser, and he has been reduced to crashing with his high school nerd-turned-techno-billionaire best friend Ned. But Mike is given another chance when he is miraculously transformed back to the age of 17. Unfortunately, Mike may look 17 again, but his thirtysomething outlook is totally uncool among the class of 2009. And in trying to recapture his best years, Mike could lose the best things that ever happened to him. (Warner Bros.)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Igby Goes Down
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Pleasant, harmless PG-13 entertainment, with a plot a little more surprising and acting a little better than I expected.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Connie Ogle
Though there's nothing revolutionary about 17 Again, the movie is undeniably enjoyable.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
While the movie feels shelf-worn, Efron's performance is fresh.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Director Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down) doesn't always have a firm handle on what is and isn't appropriate; the film makes a few sharp detours into misogyny, and the level of smuttiness is surprisingly high, which may be a function of Efron wanting to grow away from his core audience too fast.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Often silly but it's an honest, unselfconscious exploration of the conflict between a man's physical and psychological age.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
The ancient body-switching premise is animated by a breezy script that briefly addresses some of its darker implications.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
For a swoon-fest aimed at tweens, 17 Again has a lot going for it.
Read Full Review >Premiere Krista Soriano
In the scenes where Efron isn't on screen, things tend to get boring. Plus, we could've lived without having watched so many scenes where Zac is showing off his basketball skills.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Roger Moore
As a remake of "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Back to the Future," the movies it borrows from most heavily, the relive-your-senior-year comedy 17 Again falls a little short of the mark. But as a funny, sweet and smart star vehicle tailored for Zac "High School Musical" Efron, it's right on the money.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Though Mann and Perry are game, it's Efron who carries the movie.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
The movie itself is petrified meatloaf. It's a body-transference comedy in the vein of "Big," "Freaky Friday," and other candidates for Turner Classics.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
The movie doesn't come close to the family-friendly comedic pseudo-incest flirted with in "Back to the Future." That, apparently, is deemed too unsettling for today's audiences. So 17 Again none-too-cleverly tap dances around these issues.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Though remaining sweet and tasty, Efron, in his first non-singing and dancing feature film proves he has an agreeable and kinetic screen presence, although his ability to convince us he's truly a 37-year-old encased in a 17-year-old's body is dramatically dubious.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Works better than you might imagine at times but stumbles awkwardly other times. The unevenness in the writing is matched by directorial overkill in certain comic sequences.
Read Full Review >Variety Justin Chang
Zac Efron's squeaky-clean tweener-bait profile is unlikely to be threatened by 17 Again, an energetic but earthbound comic fantasy that borrows a few moves, if little inspiration, from "Big" and "It's a Wonderful Life."
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
The director, Burr Steers, whose other credits include “Igby Goes Down” and stints directing TV shows, keeps people and things moving fast enough so that you don’t have time to worry about the details, like the inanity of the story.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
This laugh-starved twist on "Big" and the many lesser body-swapping comedies of the era is basically a lecture on sexual abstinence.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
This mix of titillation and sentimentality can pass as family entertainment because 17 Again is so weightless, a succession of one-liners, sincere monologues and logical absurdities.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The result is a slack do-over fantasy in which Zac Efron, as a basketball star, looks baffled as to why he hasn't been asked to sing and dance.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
What I can't accept is that the stringy, insipidly earnest teen idol Zac Efron would grow up to be the defensively ironic, twisty-faced Matthew Perry.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
The movie's heart, of course, is with poor addled Mike and his kids, but 17 Again works only fitfully to make the Efron/Perry character worth a story.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
17 Again errs not only by covering such well-trod ground, but also by doing so through a main character - played by a game but ill-served Zac Efron - who's about as dense as they come.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Perry Seibert
Never figures out what it wants to be, and ends up a jumbled mess that nobody wants.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Director Burr Steers, of the terrific "Igby Goes Down," is stuck polishing clichès.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Scott Foundas
If this is one small step for the actor (Efron) toward becoming a leading man, it is, for Hollywood movies, one more giant leap into infantilism.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.5 (out of 10) based on 53 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Craig B gave it a9:
Loved it ... great characters , great story well constructed. Not one to laugh much at movies but this one had me chuckling at many places. See it!
Dominick gave it an8:
It's surprisingly good light hearted and very funny movie for me.. espeacially the Ned character, Hilarious! hahaha!
culee curlee gave it a3:
Waste of time!! the story need a revision and the characters? not good.
lj H gave it a7:
This was the worst advertised film ever. Whenever I saw a trailer for this film all I could think was 'Oh joy, Zac Efron has a vanity project.' But I was very happily suprised. First, he can actually act! That was a massive shock. Also, he didn;t steal the spotlight as much as I expected. Granted he was the lead role but he didn;t overshadow any of the other talent in the film like Perry and Trachtenberg. Basically this film has managed to take something that could have been a shallow indulgence for pre-pubescent little girls and actually made a decent comedy film.
Ryan S gave it a2:
Some middle-aged guy gets to be 17 again. Hooray. Watch him reclaim his wasted life. See him make a difference. What a movie.
Jamer E gave it a7:
Zac Efron is a great actor and has a great screen presence. No movies are going to be like Back to the Future again or It's a Wonderful Life. Movies like that are true classics same as Goonies, Stand By Me, etc. It was the era of the 80's. However, I do believe Zac Efron is going to be the next John Travolta and he is going to create classics for the 21st century and will be remembered by my kids as a classic.
Melancholic Alcoholic gave it a2:
The sequel to Juno and Knocked Up in the decidely rightwing slant of Hollywood. underlying message is ANTI-choice, just like creepy Juno was. also, these type of "I wish I could do it all over again, but hey I am still satisfied with what I got" movie of the week flics are outstaying their welcome. Also the incest-not-incest kiss or lack thereof??? Jeeeeez, can we ask for a little bravery in film? What am i saying, it's a neo-kkkon movie delivering a neo-kkkon message Palin could be proud of (if she had the brains to understand even this hamburger, junkfood type movie) so, bravery? too much too ask for. 2 points for good supporting roles, although LOTR geeks? that's sooo nineties!
