Time and time again

On the posters for 17 Again, the strutting figure of Zac Efron, Teen Beat pin-up du jour, promises little to anyone immune to that artfully mussed hair and those eyes like pools with too much chlorine. But then you discover that this programmer for teens is actually directed by Burr Steers, the creator and writer of the underrated 2002 film Igby Goes Down, and you suffer a momentary fit of hope.

Unfortunately, something happened to Steers between creating the disaffected 17-year-old Igby Slocumb and the confident 17-year-old jock Michael O'Donnell. Igby, while not a perfect film, had great flair, imaginative plotting and wonderfully acerbic dialogue. 17 Again (and "again" is a handy word for many aspects of the film), on the other hand, could have been generated by computer. It is the worst type of Hollywood project: a movie by a committee of thieves.

Steers, his writer Jason Filardi and all of their henchlings obviously ransacked a trunk of past films to create 17 Again. In no particular order, their film takes advantage of ideas and plot points from It's a Wonderful Life, Back to the Future and Pleasantville, though these borrowings are, at least, the sterling moments that are capable of rising above the general connect-the-dots obviousness of the enterprise. Igby has indeed gone down.

However, the sum of this lump is benign enough. If you are seeking to kill two hours of your time, you are assured of being able to do so without much discomfort - unless, of course, a pubescent Zac Efron club sits directly behind you, sighing and squirming in what passes as ecstasy in teens.

Heartthrob Michael O'Donnell (yes, Efron) is the star of his high school's basketball team. On the night of a big game in 1989, when a university scout will be attending to determine whether the boy is worthy of a full sports scholarship, his girlfriend, Scarlett, decides to tell him that she's pregnant - news that couldn't even wait for halftime.

Disoriented by what he hears, O'Donnell tosses away his chances at the scholarship, and does the right thing by proposing to his knocked-up prom date.

Twenty years later, an older and haggard Mike (played by the older and haggard Matthew Perry) is camped on a couch in the house of his high-school chum Ned (Thomas Lennon). Having survived school as the class science geek, Ned graduated into a life of technological accomplishment. As he describes it, he invented both the means of protecting music from being pirated and the means by which one could pirate music. For that, he's a rich man who is able to privately live out his Star Wars, Arthurian and Lord of the Rings fantasies.

Mike is now separated from Scarlett. Unlike Ned, the former jock graduated into an empty, suburban existence - one with little reward. Scarlett (the excellent Leslie Mann) kicked Mike out of the house recently after living for two solid decades with his complaints and recriminations about his wasted life, most of which revolved around his marrying the girl he impregnated. On top of this, he is equally estranged from his two teen children, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Alex (Sterling Knight).

On a trip back to his old high school to pine over an old trophy case that contains his photograph, a janitor approaches him and asks him if he'd like to "do it all over again." Well, yes, now that he's asked, he would. Cue special effects.

So, yes, Mike becomes 17 again. He goes back to his same high school (Ned pretends to be his father), and he gets back on the basketball team (strange that his old coach doesn't recognize him).

The rest you can pretty much work out for yourself: Mike begins to see how rudderless and friendless his children are, and he's also able to once again notice the fine qualities in Scarlett. The university scout is coming back again, too, and who would want to wager on what Mike will do?

This is a throwaway film whose only real purpose is to serve as a quick vehicle to cash in on Efron's fame and following. Efron is not without talent, something the star himself seems brashly aware of. And, if his fate is to become Matthew Perry in 20 years, he'd best enjoy the moment while it lasts.

The other actors are perfectly serviceable. The young Trachtenberg and Knight manage to shine beside Efron's aura, and Mann has many of the best scenes, though she remains a criminally underused actor.

The patchwork script raises none of the thoughtful questions posed in Pleasantville or even Back to the Future, offering only this for contemplation: If one had to relive one's life, would it again include 17 Again? 

Steffen Silvis can be reached at
ssilvis@praguepost.com