'17 Again'
Liz Brombacker
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: A & E
"No. I'm rich and no one has shoved my head in a toilet today!"
This was the response that Ned Freedman gave to Mike O'Donnell in the movie "17 Again" when asked if he wanted to go back and re-live high school.
The movie "17 Again" starring Zac Efron and Matthew Perry opened in theaters on April 17.
The movie follows main character O'Donnell played by Efron and Perry as he relives part of his senior year at age 17. O'Donnell, basketball star of the class of '89 was well on his way to college ball, when he threw it all away to marry his pregnant girlfriend.
After things become rocky with his wife, through a random turn of fate O'Donnell is giving a chance to be 17 again. O'Donnell thinks that he is meant to finally get that college scholarship, yet instead he learns an important message by attending high school with his two kids.
Though parts of the movie were slightly predictable, some fans were still impressed with the final product.
"I thought the story line of the movie was cute. I liked the jokes, the one liners added to the movie," said sophomore Nicole Eastman. "They did a good job casting the characters, I really liked Ned Freedman."
Freedman, played by Thomas Lennon, is O'Donnell's best friend who was teased in high school, but grows up to make a large sum of money. After O'Donnell's transformation, Freedman pretends to be O'Donnell's father in order to enroll him in high school.
There were certain scenes in the movie that left audiences laughing, for example when Efron playing the young O'Donnell shows up to school in an outfit that the kids mock, asking him if he raided Kevin Federline's closet.
Though there is a good cast, Efron seems to outshine almost everyone.
"I think '17 Again' really appeals to the youth through its comedy and cast," said freshman Justin Britton. "One of the reasons I want to see the movie is because Zac Efron is in it and I bet most girls would agree with me."
Critic Roger Ebert agrees with Britton that Efron drew most of the crowd to the theaters.
"I attended a screening held by a radio station, which attracted mainly teenage girls who left their boyfriends behind. When Zac Efron took off his T-shirt, the four in front of me squealed as if there were buzzers in their seats," said Ebert in his review.
Though fans are eager to see the movie, "17 Again" only received mediocre reviews from most critics. According the Yahoo Movie Web site "17 Again" didn't receive any reviews higher than a B+.
Regardless of what the critics say the movie was number one in the box office the weekend that it opened, with a gross of $23,722,310 as reported on Yahoo Movies.
Whether it is the witty one-liners or Efron that is drawing in the crowds for this movie, Warner Brother definitely got something with "17 Again."
Overall Rating: B+
This was the response that Ned Freedman gave to Mike O'Donnell in the movie "17 Again" when asked if he wanted to go back and re-live high school.
The movie "17 Again" starring Zac Efron and Matthew Perry opened in theaters on April 17.
The movie follows main character O'Donnell played by Efron and Perry as he relives part of his senior year at age 17. O'Donnell, basketball star of the class of '89 was well on his way to college ball, when he threw it all away to marry his pregnant girlfriend.
After things become rocky with his wife, through a random turn of fate O'Donnell is giving a chance to be 17 again. O'Donnell thinks that he is meant to finally get that college scholarship, yet instead he learns an important message by attending high school with his two kids.
Though parts of the movie were slightly predictable, some fans were still impressed with the final product.
"I thought the story line of the movie was cute. I liked the jokes, the one liners added to the movie," said sophomore Nicole Eastman. "They did a good job casting the characters, I really liked Ned Freedman."
Freedman, played by Thomas Lennon, is O'Donnell's best friend who was teased in high school, but grows up to make a large sum of money. After O'Donnell's transformation, Freedman pretends to be O'Donnell's father in order to enroll him in high school.
There were certain scenes in the movie that left audiences laughing, for example when Efron playing the young O'Donnell shows up to school in an outfit that the kids mock, asking him if he raided Kevin Federline's closet.
Though there is a good cast, Efron seems to outshine almost everyone.
"I think '17 Again' really appeals to the youth through its comedy and cast," said freshman Justin Britton. "One of the reasons I want to see the movie is because Zac Efron is in it and I bet most girls would agree with me."
Critic Roger Ebert agrees with Britton that Efron drew most of the crowd to the theaters.
"I attended a screening held by a radio station, which attracted mainly teenage girls who left their boyfriends behind. When Zac Efron took off his T-shirt, the four in front of me squealed as if there were buzzers in their seats," said Ebert in his review.
Though fans are eager to see the movie, "17 Again" only received mediocre reviews from most critics. According the Yahoo Movie Web site "17 Again" didn't receive any reviews higher than a B+.
Regardless of what the critics say the movie was number one in the box office the weekend that it opened, with a gross of $23,722,310 as reported on Yahoo Movies.
Whether it is the witty one-liners or Efron that is drawing in the crowds for this movie, Warner Brother definitely got something with "17 Again."
Overall Rating: B+
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