17 Again (film)

17 Again is a 2009 American teen fantasy comedy film directed by Burr Steers. It stars Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, and Michelle Trachtenberg, with Melora Hardin, Sterling Knight, and Matthew Perry in supporting roles. The film follows a 37-year-old man named Mike O’Donnell (Perry) who becomes his 17-year-old self (Efron) after a chance accident.

The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and released in the United States on April 17, 2009, to mixed reviews from critics and grossed $139.5 million.

Plot
In 1989, 17-year-old star athlete Mike O'Donnell finds out that his girlfriend, Scarlet Porter, is pregnant. Scarlet tells Mike about her pregnancy moments before his likely scholarship-clinching high-school championship basketball game. Mike plays the first few seconds of the game before walking off the court to go after Scarlet, abandoning his hopes of going to college and achieving a career. Twenty years later, 37-year-old Mike finds his life stagnant and boring; he abandons any project he starts. Scarlet, now Mike's wife and the mother of their two children, has filed for divorce. Mike moves in with his best friend, Ned Gold, who is wealthy, geeky, and also unhappy. Mike has been passed over for a promotion at work he believed he deserved. He expresses his frustration to his boss, which ends with Mike being fired after he smashes his boss's bluetooth earpiece against the wall. His high-school-age kids, 18-year-old Maggie and 16-year-old Alex, want nothing to do with him. While driving, Mike has an encounter with a janitor on a bridge that transforms him back into his 17-year-old self.

After becoming convinced of Mike's identity, Ned believes that Mike's transformation was caused by a mystical spirit guide who is trying to steer him on a better path. Mike enrolls in high school by posing as Mark Gold, Ned's son. He plans to go to college on a basketball scholarship. As Mike befriends his own son, Alex, he discovers that Alex is being bullied. Mike also learns that his daughter, Maggie, has a boyfriend named Stan who does not respect her and frequently torments Alex. Mike comes to believe that his mission is to help his kids.

Through their kids, Mike spends time with Scarlet, who notes his remarkable resemblance to her husband but rationalizes it as an odd coincidence. Attempting to fix his relationship with Scarlet, Mike begins to finish all the garden projects he had abandoned as an adult. He does his best to separate Stan and Maggie while encouraging Alex to be more confident. Mike has difficulty resisting his desire for Scarlet despite the relationship's clear inappropriateness.

Mike throws a party to celebrate a basketball game win at Ned's house. He confronts Stan, who has recently dumped Maggie for refusing to have sex with him. Mike gets knocked out and wakes up to Maggie trying to seduce him. Mike tells Maggie that he is in love with someone else, and Maggie leaves, much to Mike's relief. Scarlet arrives at the party, and Mike shows her that Alex has finally managed to get together with his crush. The two have an intimate conversation where Mike, caught up in the moment, tries to kiss Scarlet. Disgusted, she storms off as Mike tries unsuccessfully to explain his true identity.

On the day of the court hearing to finalize the divorce, Mike makes one last attempt to win Scarlet back (as Mark) by reading a supposed letter from Mike. After he exits, Scarlet notices that the "letter" is actually directions to the courtroom; she begins to grow curious and postpones the divorce by a month. Frustrated that he could not salvage his marriage, Mike decides to once again pursue a scholarship and move on with a new life. During a high school basketball game, Mike reveals his true identity to Scarlet. As Scarlet runs away, Mike decides to chase her down, just like he did in 1989 before transforming back into his 37-year-old self. He happily reunites and reconciles with Scarlet, realizing that she is the best decision he ever made.

As Mike prepares for his first day as the new basketball coach at his kids' school, Ned—who has successfully started a relationship with Jane—gifts him a whistle. Both are happy with the fresh starts in their lives.

Cast

 * Matthew Perry / Zac Efron as Michael "Mike" O'Donnell / Mark Gold: Perry portrays Mike at age 37, while Efron portrays Mike at age 17 in the opening flashback from 1989 and after Mike has undergone his magical transformation into posing as Mark Gold, son of his future friend Ned.
 * Leslie Mann as Scarlet Porter O'Donnell: Mike's soon-to-be former wife and the mother of his children
 * Allison Miller as young Scarlet
 * Thomas Lennon as Ned Gold: Mike's best friend
 * Tyler Steelman as young Ned
 * Michelle Trachtenberg as Margaret Sarah "Maggie" O'Donnell: Mike and Scarlet's 18-year-old daughter. Her conception was the reason Mike chose to abandon his dreams and marry Scarlet. She formerly dated Stan.
 * Sterling Knight as Alex O'Donnell: Mike and Scarlet's 16-year-old son. He is hated by everyone in the school, especially Stan.
 * Melora Hardin as Principal Jane Masterson: principal of the high school that Mike, Scarlet, and Ned used to attend and that Maggie, Alex and "Mark" currently attend. She is also Ned's love interest.
 * Hunter Parrish as Stan: Maggie's former tough boyfriend. He's nice to everyone except Alex, whom he bullies even in his house.
 * Nicole Sullivan as Naomi: Scarlet's best friend
 * Kat Graham, Tiya Sircar and Melissa Ordway as Jamie, Samantha and Lauren: the three girls who are friends with Maggie, and constantly trying to flirt with "Mark".
 * Brian Doyle-Murray as Janitor: the magical spirit guide who makes the transformation possible
 * Josie Loren as Nicole: the head cheerleader and Alex's crush.
 * Jim Gaffigan as Coach Murphy: the high school basketball coach, who has been there for 20 years
 * Margaret Cho as Mrs. Dell: a teacher

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 56% based on 149 reviews, with an average rating of 5.40/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Though it uses a well-worn formula, 17 Again has just enough Zac Efron charm to result in a harmless, pleasurable teen comedy." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, writing: "17 Again is pleasant, harmless PG-13 entertainment, with a plot a little more surprising and acting a little better than I expected." Justin Chang of Variety wrote: "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."

Box office
The film was projected to take in around $20 million in its opening weekend. Opening in 3,255 theaters in the United States and Canada, the film grossed $23.7 million, ranking #1 at the box office, with 70% of the audience consisting of young females. By the end of its run, 17 Again grossed $64.2 million in North America and $72.1–75.3 million internationally, totaling $136.3–139.5 million worldwide.

Soundtrack
17 Again: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on April 21, 2009, by New Line Records.

Track listing

 * 1) "On My Own" by Vincent Vincent and the Villains
 * 2) "Can't Say No" by The Helio Sequence
 * 3) "L.E.S. Artistes" by Santigold
 * 4) "Naïve" by The Kooks
 * 5) "This Is Love" by Toby Lightman
 * 6) "You Really Wake Up the Love in Me" by The Duke Spirit
 * 7) "The Greatest" by Cat Power
 * 8) "Rich Girls" by The Virgins
 * 9) "This Is for Real" by Motion City Soundtrack
 * 10) "Drop" by Ying Yang Twins
 * 11) "Cherish" by Kool & the Gang
 * 12) "Bust a Move" by Young MC
 * 13) "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins

Additional music credits

 * "Kid" by The Pretenders
 * "Nookie" by Limp Bizkit
 * "The Underdog" by Spoon
 * "High School Never Ends" by Bowling for Soup (Used in movie trailer/commercial)
 * "Push It Fergasonic (DJ Axel Mashup)" by Fergie, Salt-n-Pepa, JJ Fad

The orchestral score was written by Rolfe Kent and orchestrated by Tony Blondal. It was recorded at Skywalker Sound.

Adaptation
A South Korean television series titled 18 Again based on the film aired on JTBC from September 21 to November 10, 2020.

There is also a musical adaptation of 17 Again, with a studio cast recording made in 2023.