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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

17 Again

EMAILPRINTNew Line Cinema (Warner Bros. Pictures)

17 Again reviews
48
5.7 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 55 votes
Read user comments
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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.)

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...

75

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.

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75

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Though there's nothing revolutionary about 17 Again, the movie is undeniably enjoyable.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

While the movie feels shelf-worn, Efron's performance is fresh.

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75

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.

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75

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.

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70

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

The ancient body-switching premise is animated by a breezy script that briefly addresses some of its darker implications.

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63

USA Today Claudia Puig

For a swoon-fest aimed at tweens, 17 Again has a lot going for it.

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63

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.

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63

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.

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60

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Though Mann and Perry are game, it's Efron who carries the movie.

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50

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.

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50

Washington Post Dan Kois

Engaging but pedestrian comedy.

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50

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.

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50

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.

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50

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.

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50

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."

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50

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

It's often breezily entertaining.

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50

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.

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50

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.

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50

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.

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42

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.

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40

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.

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38

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.

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38

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.

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25

TV Guide Perry Seibert

Never figures out what it wants to be, and ends up a jumbled mess that nobody wants.

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25

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Director Burr Steers, of the terrific "Igby Goes Down," is stuck polishing clichès.

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20

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.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.7 (out of 10) based on 55 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!

Read more user comments >

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