johnlink ranks 17 AGAIN (2009)
This is a movie which I never, ever, ever would have thought would find its way onto this series of movie rankings. This is a movie starring Zac Efron (from HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL) in the role of Matthew Perry as a high school senior. When Chandler loses his way in life, a weird old janitor makes him… wait for it… wait for it… 17 AGAIN. If I had energy to get up off the couch and get the remote I wouldn’t have even started it. But, well, I watched it.
I watched 17 AGAIN (2009) on 4.15.11. It was my first viewing of the film. TRAILER HERE
So this movie is actually… I can’t believe I’m saying this… a little bit good. By no means perfect, by no means a classic. For one, if you’re a movie who’s main character is working on a basketball scholarship, your scenes involving basketball should have some idea how a game of basketball actually works. When a team is down by 6 with 17 seconds left, they don’t play defense off the ball while the other team tries to run a play. It’s just not how it happens at any level of basketball competition.
But the meat of this movie… it works. Efron actually made me laugh a few times. And comedian Thomas Lennon is very funny in this. The acting isn’t great, it’s not like Efron channels Perry, or vice versa. But the film has enough charm and heart to just barely work. I’m not sure I’d watch it again, but I wouldn’t shut it 0ff either.
It’s funny seeing Michelle Trachtenberg in this. She plays Perry’s daughter, a high school senior. She was 24 when it was made. This is the same year she played Bruce Willis’ adult daughter in COP OUT. Weird.
I don’t have a heck of a lot to say about this film. It isn’t anything special or memorable. But it made me smile and laugh for an hour and a half. And that’s more than I can say about some of the ‘comedies’ I’ve seen lately.
SCORES
FILM: 3; MOVIE: 8; ACTING: 4; WRITING: 5
3+8+4+5+0=20
FINAL SCORE: 5
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