17 Again (film)

17 Again
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Burr Steers
Produced by	Adam Shankman Jennifer Gibgot
Written by	Jason Filardi
Starring	Zac Efron Leslie Mann Thomas Lennon Michelle Trachtenberg Matthew Perry Sterling Knight
Music by	Rolfe Kent
Cinematography	Tim Suhrstedt
Edited by	Padraic McKinley
Production company	Offspring Entertainment
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date	April 17, 2009 (2009-04-17)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	$136.3 million

17 Again is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Burr Steers. The film follows 37-year-old Mike (Matthew Perry) who becomes a 17-year-old boy (Zac Efron) after a chance accident. The film also features Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon and Michelle Trachtenberg in supporting roles. The film was released in the United States on April 17, 2009.

In 1989, 17-year-old Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) learns during the start of his high school championship basketball game that his girlfriend Scarlet Porter (Allison Miller) is pregnant. Moments after the game begins, he leaves the game and goes after Scarlet, abandoning his hopes of going to college and becoming a professional basketball player.

Two decades later, Mike (Matthew Perry), now 37 years old, finds his life stalled. Scarlet (Leslie Mann), now his wife and mother of their two children, has separated from him due to him blaming her for his regrets about abandoning his future, forcing him to move in with his geeky, yet extremely wealthy, best friend since high school, Ned Gold (Thomas Lennon). At his job, there comes another reason for his frustration: due to his lack of higher education and since he is significantly older than most of his co-workers, he is passed over for a promotion he deserves in favor of a much younger worker. He quits his job and his high school-age children, 17-year-old Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg) and 16-year-old Alex (Sterling Knight) want nothing to do with him. Later, while visiting his high school to reminisce, an encounter with a mysterious janitor (Brian Doyle-Murray) transforms Mike back into his 17-year-old self.

After convincing Ned of his identity, Ned believes that Mike's transformation was caused by a mystical spirit guide who is trying to steer him on a better path. Mike then enrolls in high school posing as Mark Gold, Ned's son, and plans to go to college with a basketball scholarship. As he befriends his bullied son and discovers that his daughter has a boyfriend, Stan (Hunter Parrish), who does not respect her and frequently torments Alex, Mike comes to believe that his mission is to help them. He meets Stan, the captain of the basketball team, and embarrasses him in front of the whole school after Stan insults Alex. Later, in Sex Education class while the teacher is handing out condoms to the students in a basket, Stan turns to Mike and refuses to give him any, saying that he does not need them, causing quiet laughter among the class. Mike then makes a speech about love and sex in front of the whole class for Maggie's benefit, causing all of the girls to give back their condoms. Stan then takes the condoms claiming that he is stocked up for the weekend and kisses Maggie passionately. Because of this, Mike loses his temper and starts a fight with Stan on the floor, which is being taped by other students and eventually goes viral within a matter of minutes. Mike loses the fight and Ned is called up to the school.