YAB Review: ’17 Again’
Posted by meredith on 04-23-2009
In the same spirit as our new and improved YAB Book Review format, we’ve done some tinkering with our other YAB media reviews as well (keep an eye out for music and games). We hope this helps answer the questions Ypulse Readers have for teen moviegoers, booklovers, gamers, etc. If you have any suggestions, feel free to add in comments!
Below Ypulse Youth Advisory Board member Caroline Marques shares her thoughts on the teen movie “17 Again.” Remember, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment.
YAB Review: ’17 Again’
What was the biggest draw?
Honestly, and perhaps embarrassingly, I saw that Zac Efron (who, by the way, I think is cute, but I’m not obsessed with) was in a new movie, and I immediately looked it up. What really got me was the trailer, I loved it from the start. It looked like the perfect teen movie to me. I recognized Michelle Trachtenberg, who I like, and Matthew Perry who I loved from “Friends”, so I got pretty excited. I didn’t read any reviews before seeing it on opening day. I did, however, watch the trailer multiple times, and this made me think I’d like the movie.
What did you expect going in? How much did you know beforehand?
Before I saw the movie I found the trailer on YouTube linked to other trailers I view. I don’t get to see the ads on TV in Switzerland, so I have to look up a lot of stuff online . There also aren’t any posters here, so I could only base my first impressions on the trailer (although when I was in New York visiting, I saw the poster a lot and imagined that it would influence people. I mean, a huge poster of Zac?) But, like I said, I pretty much fell in love with the trailer. Even though I could basically see where the movie was going, there were still some surprises in the actual film. I thought it would probably be funny and cute, with teenage drama and a moral. You can tell that from the moment in the preview where Zac says something along the lines of: “when you’re young, everything feels like the end of the world, but it’s not… it’s only the beginning. ”
Describe your moviegoing experience
I went on April 17th in NYC with my mom and my aunt who I was visiting. I was going to go with friends originally, but didn’t because I wanted to spend time with my aunt. It was around 4 and my aunt had bought the tickets beforehand online (because we wanted to be sure to get tickets since we had something to do after). There were mostly teens and a few moms.
Sum Up The Story (Spoiler Alert)
Matthew Perry plays Michael, a guy who is 37 and pretty miserable with his life, his wife and two kids because he got married instead of pursuing his basketball dreams. He wishes he could go back to being the best age of his life, 17, and when he gets his wish he comes back as Zac Efron. With the help of his weird best friend, he becomes the cool kid in school and after adjusting, he helps his own kids go through things he wouldn’t have helped them with otherwise. In the end he reevaluates the choices he made.. and decides he made the right ones.
Did you spot any brands?
Yes, Michelle listens to her iPod and Zac wears a pair of Ray-Bans as he gets out of his car as the schools new hottie.
What did you walk out of the theater thinking? (“Loved it”? “Hated it”? Must download the soundtrack”?)
I laughed during this movie, but it wasn’t my favorite film. I thought it was cute and will probably watch it again. After all, the guys were cute and some of the lines and scenes were funny.
I actually knew most of the songs in the film except this one that I LOVED called “This is For Real” written for the soundtrack that was also in the trailer. I felt like I needed to get that song. I’m actually listening to it right now on YouTube .
In general, I would give it two thumbs up, as far as teen movies go even though it was a bit formulaic. Also, it seemed a bit similar to the plot of “13 going on 30″ and the movie “Big,” so it wasn’t particularly original. But, overall, it portrayed high school pretty well, in my opinion, and I’m still thinking about it a week later.
About Caroline
Caroline is a high school student in Geneva, Switzerland. While Caroline lists sports, music and travelling as her hobbies, she also very much enjoys writing and reading. After being a teen adviser for NickMag, she thought Ypulse would be the perfect opportunity for a new start. While trying to keep up with the trends (or setting some of her own), dance classes, working on long papers and trying to master three new languages, she rarely has time to write the novel she wishes she could finish, though she is certain one day she will. Writing is never far from her thoughts.
Categorized under: Movies & Music, Youth Advisory Board