In my continuing effort to understand Zac Efron’s appeal, I rented the movie “17 Again.” The film centers on Mike O’Donnell (Matthew Perry), a man who made a life decision when he was a 17-year-old in love and doubts that decision to this day. We meet Mike with his life in shambles. His career has taken a negative turn, his teenage children want nothing to do with him and his wife Scarlett (Leslie Mann) is divorcing him.

Trapped in a rut, the disillusioned Mike returns to his old high school and is lost in the images of his glory days. Through a curious series of events, Mike transforms into his seventeen-year-old self (Zac Efron).

Since Mike feels that he was given this opportunity to fulfill his basketball destiny, he decides to re-enroll in high school. By pretending to be the son of his best friend Ned Gold (Thomas Lennon), Mike O’Donnell quickly becomes Mark Gold. Everything is going according to plan until she realizes her son is being bullied by the basketball team and her daughter is dating a jerk. Your mission changes from your happiness to the happiness of your children.

As a result of befriending his son, he finds himself spending a lot of time with his future ex-wife and realizes that he still loves her. There are many embarrassing scenes between Scarlett in the mid-30s and seventeen-year-old Mark / Mike.

In the end, he finds himself at exactly the same crossroads as when he was seventeen. You have a second chance at your perfect life.

Aside from some hilarious moments with Ned, this premise is well-spent territory. This movie looks good compared to its many peers, but it’s a far cry from Tom Hanks’s wonderful lead, “Big.”

It’s painfully obvious that the sole purpose of this movie is to be a Zack Efron vehicle, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although it’s not for people like me, I can see the appeal for a Zac Efron fan. His character ranges from cool kid to dumb dad, and it works.

Bottom line: “17 Again” isn’t “Big”, but it’s nice enough and a perfect gift for a Zac Efron fan.