Feb

From the Vaults: 17 Again Blu Ray Review

17 Again opens with a young Mike O’Donnell (Zac Efron) preparing for what he feels is the biggest moment of his life. He is in his senior year of high school in 1989 and college scouts are in the crowd to watch him do his thing. Right before the big game he rushes over to his girlfriend Scarlett for a quick moment together before the game, only to find out she is pregnant and wants to break up so as not to hold him back from a promising future in sports. As the game begins, Mike makes a decision that haunts him all the way to current Mike O’Donnell (Matthew Perry),who blames all of his problems on that single decision. Disconnected from his kids and in the middle of divorce proceedings, Mike is staying with his longtime best friend Ned (Thomas Lennon) until one day while reliving his glory days at the old gym, Mike bumps into an elderly janitor, who turns everything upside down and gives Mike his wish.

Ok so the story is a variation of many films such as Freaky Friday, Big, It’s A Wonderful Life, 13 Going on 30 just to name a few. 17 Again is just different enough to distinguish itself from other simular movies. The story is light, fun spirited and an all around enjoyable film that flows at a good pace.

Zac Efron, undenyably the star of 17 Again, puts in a decent performance as the 17 year old version of Mike O’Donnell who gains a whole new perspective on things. The thing is, Efron’s performance is so overshadowed by his supporting cast that he almost gets lost in the mix, despite the fact that Warner Brothers got a little Zac happy on the cover art. Melora Hardin is fantastic as the closet Sci/Fi fantasy geek principal Masterson, who catches the eye of O’Donnell’s best friend Ned Gold, played by Thomas Lennon. Improv master Thomas Lennon puts in the best performance in the movie hands down as the one time ball boy that O’Donnell befriended back in high school who is now incredibly wealthy and just as geeky, thanks to a little piece of anti-piracy software he developed. Lennon eclipses Zac in all of the scenes they share and nails his character perfectly. My favorite stand up comedian Jim Gaffigan makes a far too brief appearance as the longtime gym coach at the high school. Unfortunately his character is never given time to develop and instead serves as a straight man to the people around him. The same can be said for Matthew Perry, who is limited to a couple of scenes as the grown up version of Mike O’Donnell. Leslie Mann who plays Scarlett, Mike’s soon to be ex-wife who he calls “Scar” has a few good key scenes but is likewise mainly around as material for those around her.

I have to give props to Warner Brothers for delivering a solid video transfer for a teen comedy such as this. Presented in 1080p in a 2.4:1 aspect ratio, 17 Again delivers a radiant palette of colors with a slightly warm feel to them. Blacks reach deeply with a nice inky look and skintones are very natural. The transfer adds a great amount of crisp detail to the film, with textures rendered sharply with minimal traces of edge enhancement. Although there are no major action sequences to push the format to it’s bounds, this is a very nice release that makes getting the movie in Blu Ray a worthwhile upgrade.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround soundtrack matches up nicely with it’s video counterpart. The movie is very dialogue heavy and all lines are rendered crisp and clear, with perfect prioritization. When the action picks up, such as during basketball games or when Mike and Ned are nerd dueling at Ned’s mansion, all of the channels are put to good use, producing very nice ambiance and drawing the viewer further into the action.

There are quite a few special features to choose from for the film, as well as BD Live material that is not yet enabled. First off is Going Back To 17, which gives various castmembers a chance to reminisce about those awkward teenage moments that many of us would probably prefer never to remember again. The Tell All Trivia Track is a nice acompaniment to the movie, giving trivia and insight into many of the scenes and characters in the film. Zac Goes Back is a look at Zac Efron and his role in the film. Also included are assortments of bloopers, deleted scenes and a behind the scenes look at Zac Efron learning the 80’s dance moves, only to have the final scene scrubbed from the movie. Throw in a digital copy as well as a standard definition dvd and you have a nice assortment of Zac, er I mean 17 Again to choose from in this release.

Looking for a movie to watch with your significant other for date night at home but afraid of getting stuck watching a painful movie such as Confessions of a Shopaholic? 17 Again is very simple on premise but rises above it’s storyline with strong efforts from supporting cast, especially Thomas Lennon and Melora Hardin. I had fun with it and was very impressed by a very strong audio and video presentation, much better treatment than romantic comedies usually receive. If you have a teen or pre-teen girl in the house who is a big Zac Efron fan, go ahead and cold buy it, you will definitely get a good return on your investment. All others, don’t let Mr. Efron’s face on the cover and the plot description scare you away from 17 Again. It is good for some mindless fun in front of the television and there are no musical numbers.

Special Features:

17 Again is available on DVD and Blu Ray now, courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.

What Do YOU Think?

Rating: 5.0/10 (1 vote cast)