17 Again

The facts are these...
1. I saw the movie "17 Again" tonight.
2. I was hoping to drift peacefully to sleep and dream about Zac Efron.
3. I cannot sleep. I stay up late frequently, but not this late...er, early.
4. I'm not going to get back in bed until I know I'm exhausted enough to actually sleep.
5. As usual, it has been far too long since I blogged.
6. I've seen too many negative reviews of "17 Again" and would like to offer a different perspective... (What else am I going to do?)

"17 Again" is not an original premise; let's just get that out of the way. At least one article I read insinuated the story was a rip-off of "Big" (though, of course, it was actually the reverse). Another whined that Zac Efron didn't have the husky "old soul" voice of Lindsay Lohan to pull off the adult-in-a-teenage-body illusion in Freaky Friday. I think a lot of things have aged Lindsay Lohan's soul and Zac Efron is lucky his is still young.

I will also start by saying that I went into this movie heavily biased in its favor. I swooned over Matthew Perry on "Friends" and Zac Efron in "Hairspray". I absolutely LOVE body switching movies, and I could watch all of them, from the classic "Big " to the obscure early Katherine Hiegl flick "Wish Upon A Star", a dozen times. This is partly because I enjoy the predictable (but always just a little bit different!) hilarity that will ensue, but also because I'm interested to see how well actors will embody the person they swapped with. (I've never seen "Face Off", but I'm fairly certain I'd be thrilled with it for this reason.)

With that, I give you a list of questions to determine if, like me, you'd enjoy "17 Again". If you answer yes to at least 3 of them, you should rent it. If you answer yes to more than half, get thee to a theater.

1. Do you enjoy looking at Zac Efron?
2. Would you like to see the comedic stylings of Mrs. Judd Apatow (Leslie Mann)?
3. Have you missed Matthew Perry? (Half a point for this one, since he's in only a few scenes).
4. Do you like "Freaky Friday(s)", "Big", etc. but not hold them in untouchable reverence?
5. Do you enjoy seeing high school bullies get their comeuppance?
5a. Are you okay with this and other high school cliches?
6. Were you beginning to wonder if Brian Doyle Murray was still alive?
7. Do you appreciate heartwarming family stories?
8. Does the masterpiece "Bust A Move" by Young MC make you want to sing/dance/smile?
9. Are you curious how this movie manages to incorporate Elvish subtitles?

If none of the above reasons do anything for you, I've saved my strongest argument for last:

Thomas Lennon, who plays Perry/Efron's best friend, is positively hilarious. He steals just about every scene he's in. I personally think his character alone would be worth the price of admission.

"17 Again": Cliche? Sure. Sweet and funny? Definitely. Thomas Lennon? Awesome.