A young actor couldn’t get a better showcase than this year’s spring smash “17 Again.”
Star Zac Efron is perfectly coiffed in nearly every scene of the film, out on DVD Aug. 11. And he’s surrounded by established comic actors to cushion the biggest role of his still blossoming career.
Even Pauly Shore could shine in that setting.
But “17 Again” turns out to be much more than an actor’s vanity project. It’s smart when it isn’t being effectively silly, and it takes the tired body-swapping formula in fresh directions.
Matthew Perry stars as Mike, a disgruntled salesman with two alienated teens and a soon to be ex-wife (Leslie Mann). He got married right after high school when he impregnated his future wife, forcing him to abandon his basketball career.
It’s a decision he’s been mourning ever since.
A chance meeting with a mysterious stranger (Brian Doyle Murray) grants Mike a second chance. He’s suddenly 17 again and looks like Zac Efron.
The young Mike resumes his high school basketball career, but this time’s he’s more interested in patching things up with his wife and helping his teens navigate some typical high school complications.
Director Burr Steers, who delivered the vibrant “Igby Goes Down,” lends “17 Again” the kind of restraint too few teen comedies enjoy.
It’s refreshing to see how the film bypasses the usual storylines in favor of a father desperately trying to reunite his family. Mike runs into a typical school yard thug, but he’d rather use him as a teaching tool for his daughter (Michelle Trachtenburg) than square off in some macho contest.
Perhaps the best scene is a throwaway moment when young Mike spurns the advances of three sexually aggressive teens. First, he lectures them about the value of maintaining their self-worth, and when the lesson ricochets off their thick skulls he shrugs his shoulders and moves on.
A lesser movie would show the girls learning the error of their ways. Here, it’s just a colorful comment on the culture.
The film isn’t quite the star-making vehicle for Efron as intended. The “High School Musical” standout fleshes out the role nicely, but one can picture a young, scrappy Michael J. Fox grabbing hold of the part and not letting go. Efron is too pretty, too glib at times to fully register as a man trapped in a boy’s body.
Perry, once a promising film star himself, makes the most of his limited screen time. So does Thomas Lennon as Mike’s uber-nerdy friend seeking true love with the school principal.
Even when “17 Again” falls back on teen comedy cliches, like how Mike’s son gets tongue tied talking to a comely cheerleader, it sneaks in a few surprises. At one point a female character notes how gosh darn metrosexual young Mike appears.
“17 Again” even manages to include a conservative message or two about fidelity, friendship and the importance of delayed sexual gratification.
That’s a lot of ground to cover in a teen comedy, but “17 Again” and its star prove more than up to the task.
(Photo: Leslie Mann dances with a younger version of her husband (Zac Efron) in “17 Again”/Photo courtesy of Warner Home Video)
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