The so-so 17 Again is essentially Big in reverse, but despite the clearly competent comedy chops of High School Musical heartthrob Zac Efron and a totally talented supporting cast, it falls far short of being as meaningful, or even memorable, as that seminal Tom Hanks hit.

Instead of a kid wishing he were older, we get an unhappy thirtysomething (Matthew Perry) wishing he could live in the past, back when he was a high school basketball star and before he gave up the game for his pregnant girlfriend. Thanks to a magic janitor and a giant whirlpool, he’s soon back to his youthful, six-pack self, only it’s still 2009.

The film may sound a lot like Big, but it more or less feels and plays out like lesser late-’80s body-swap comedies like Vice Versa or Like Father, Like Son and tries nothing new with the concept. Efron acts like a teenager, has a pal (Thomas Lennon) who knows what’s up, and inevitably turns back into Perry after learning a valuable life lesson.

I also didn’t care for Efron hitting on his estranged wife (Leslie Mann), or seeing Efron’s annoying daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg) come on to him. The latter is an admittedly uncomfortable idea that was done to funny effect in Back to the Future, but here just feels creepy, as does, somehow, Efron helping his son (Sterling Knight) gain both confidence and a girlfriend.

And yet while Efron is no Hanks, he mostly succeeds in convincing us that inside his gym-honed body lurks the soul of an actual adult. He thwarts a bully by psycho-analyzing the guy’s weaknesses, makes a pro-abstinence speech that starts out funny but turns unexpectedly tender, and makes a passionate, heart-breaking plea to Mann in divorce court to give him one more chance. He also complains to his teen teammates about gaining a paunch and losing hair.

Mann is funny, too, especially when she first meets the new Efron (whom she later dubs “weirdo little man-child”) and pokes and prods and squeezes his face because she, and only she, it seems, notices that he looks just like Perry when he was younger. Speaking of which, I never bought into the idea that a stud like Efron could grow up to be Perry, but the former Friends star still made me laugh.

I laughed at Lennon (I Love You, Man) the most, though. He’s absolutely hysterical as Efron’s rich nerd buddy who lives in the ultimate nerd pad and tells Efron’s hot high school principal (Melora Hardin), “I think our hands just made a baby,” after shaking her hand. His wooing of her is amusing. His lightsaber duel with Efron (don’t ask) is even funnier. The scene where he joins others in slapping Efron is funnier still.

Ultimately the film, which was slapped together by the guy who concocted Bringing Down the House and directed by Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down), is really not much more than a skin-deep stepping stone for Efron to ease away from his Disney image. He may not sing and dance in it, but something tells me teen girls everywhere will forgive him once they see him shooting hoops shirtless. – [DVD]

Comedy/Drama/Romance

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 8/11/09

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