17 Again
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The Story
On the night of the biggest basketball game of his life, high school senior Mike O’Donnell (Zac Efron) learns two things—there’s a college scholarship riding on his performance and his girlfriend is pregnant. Mike impulsively ditches the game to “be there” for her, leaving college and basketball behind.
Flash forward 17 years, and we learn that noble Mike (Matthew Perry) turned into a resentful jerk always half-blaming Scarlett (Leslie Mann) and his now teenage kids for ruining his life. That’s why she’s divorcing him and they can’t stand him. Oh, and he lost his sales job, too. And he’s now living with Ned (Thomas Lennon), his best friend from high school, an uber-dork/major sci-fi fan who is also a software millionaire.
Then a mystical janitor shows up and Mike is sucked into a muddy portal and suddenly he’s “17 Again.” With Ned’s help in all things sci-fi, Mike decides his “spirit guide” wants him to go back to high school to start his life over—only to quickly change his mind and decide that maybe he’s supposed to help his kids and get his wife back, instead.
Content Issues
Some harsh language includes uses of Jesus’ and God’s name for swearing, along with some sexual dialogue. Mike’s daughter makes out repeatedly with her goony boyfriend. More disturbing, she comes on hard to Mike (not realizing he’s her dad) when they’re alone in a bedroom—which is more gross than young Mike romancing his adult wife while she think he’s a teenage boy and several high school girls openly lusting after young Mike.
Worldview Talking Points
In addition to reflecting (sometimes poignantly) the common “what if” game played by grown-ups everywhere, “17 Again” works out a couple of big worldview ideas that might resonate with students.
On the one hand, it’s an object lesson that the choices we make in high school can profoundly impact the rest of our lives. In a sex-ed class with his daughter, the 30-something and regretful Mike (in the body of his 17-year-old self) makes a passionate case for sexual abstinence. And it’s not just because he doesn’t want his daughter to have sex with her condom-clutching boyfriend.
Mike realizes that he could have avoided a lot of heartache by waiting on sex. Not only would it have given him a better shot at college, but he might have been a better husband and father with a little more maturity.
On the other hand, the film ultimately expresses that our past choices—right and wrong—create our current selves. We can’t really go back and undo them; what matters is what we do today, right now. What kind of dad and husband will Mike be today, even the body of a teenager?
Don’t get me wrong; “17 Again” is mostly just a silly comedy that only plays around with these big ideas. But a few of the following questions might lead to some productive conversation with you teen if they’ve seen it.
- Did you like Zac Efron better in this film or in the “High School Musical” movies?
- Can you ever imagine yourself wanting to jump back or forth in time or into different ages/versions of your own life? Why?
- Were you surprised that Mike knew so little about his own kids, that his son was getting picked on or that his daughter had a mean boyfriend she really liked?
- Do you think there are things about your life that your parents would be surprised to learn? How could we do better at knowing what’s going on with you? Would that even be something you’d want from us?
- Mike had a chance to really get to know his kids as “just another student.” He used his own confidence and life experience to help them to do better. Do you ever wish someone could step into your life and help you like that?
- Do you ever see yourself doing for your friends the kinds of things Mike did for his kids?
- Mike’s choice to have sex as a teenager had a huge impact on his life. Do you think you’ve made any choices, yet, that will change what your life is like 17 years from now? Do you ever wonder about that?
- In the sex-ed class, Mike makes a big deal out of his belief that teens should wait to have sex until they’re in love or even until they’re married. Were you surprised by that scene? Why or why not?
- Do you think it’s believable that other students would respond to the kind of speech Mike made by giving back condoms and deciding to wait for sex? How much influence do you think you have with people in your school just by saying what you believe with confidence? [Parent: Stress that most teens have way more influence to spend than they realize.]
- How long do you think teens should wait before having sex? Why?
- Given the chance to make different choices as a high school student again, Mike does somethings differently and other things the same. Did any of his choices surprise you?
- Before his magical transformation, Mike seems to live in regret for the choices he made in high school. Do you know anyone who seems to get stuck in regret for past choices?
- What do you think matters most—the mistakes you made in the past or the choices you make today? How did Mike’s outlook change for the better by the end of the story? What had really changed? What gave him a better perspective?
- [Parent: Talking about a movie like this is a perfect opportunity to be honest with your child about things you might wish you had done differently in high school—and/or how God has used even your wrong choices to show His love, grace, and kindness to you.]
Kelly on Apr 24, 2009 said...
I don’t care what kind of conversation this silly movie gives you to have with your teen. The movie blasphemes God’s Holy Name. Why do Christians give dollars to Hollywood to blaspheme our Savior? Makes me sick.