On DVD: '17 Again'

'17 Again' (PG-13) **

Writer: Jason Filardi
Director: Burr Steers
Starring: Zak Effron, Leslie Mann, Matthew Perry, Thomas Lennon, Michelle Trachtenberg, Melora Hardin, Nicole Sullivan, Jim Gaffigan

"17 Again" is a comedy in the tradition of the body/mind swap movies that date back to Jodie Foster in "Freaky Friday". This is where often a child and an adult of varying degrees swap bodies through magic and have to deal with the other's life. There are the good ones (Freaky Fridays), great (Vice Versa) and the classic ones (Big). This genre keeps coming back and this time it is an adult who tries to relive his high school years and transforms back into a teenager. The adult is played by Matthew Perry who doesn't really register in this movie and the teen is played by Zak Effron who is very good here. I wasn't really excited about this movie going in and the beginning is dumb and clumsy but once Effron takes over the movie gets better and I actually was into it. There is also Leslie Mann playing Perry's ex wife and Mann has joined my short list of actresses and actors that make me happy whenever I see them on screen, the ones that you know every movie they will be in is worth seeing just for them. She is very good here and funny as always plus Thomas Lennon from "Reno 911" is great as Perry's friend. You have a fun supporting cast, a very good performance by Effron and a story that starts to entertain. Then as the movie comes to an ending it becomes stupid, predictable and lets it's stars down. I really wanted to like this charming movie but I grew tired as the movie falls apart and becomes dumb. It is not a bad movie and I really like Zak Effron who I think has star potential with his easy screen presence and good looks and he is charismatic and charming. The movie comes close to being surprisingly good but needed a rewrite and it is definitely no "Big". I do look forward to seeing the next Leslie Mann movie though. "17 Again" is now available on DVD.