17 Again

On Monday, May 18 we saw the film 17 Again to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of our first date.  For the previous Christmas, friends had given us gift certificates for two free movie tickets at Pacific Theaters, two free drinks, and a free large popcorn.  We decided to use them at the Pacific Theaters at the Americana on Brand shopping destination in Glendale.  It’s an outdoor mall developed by the same group that developed the Grove in West L.A.  The Americana has only been around since May of last year.  Going there was appropriate because my wife lived in Glendale ten years ago.  We decided to see 17 Again because we liked the synopsis given in the Regency Theaters brochure we picked up when we saw The Soloist in April.  My wife also wanted to see the genuine “Shaggy Zac.”  She had played MANGO during a girl’s night out and one of the profiles was “Shaggy Zac.”

To get to the Americana we drove west on the 210 to the 134.  There wasn’t much traffic just after 11 am.  We exited at Brand in Glendale and drove south past Gaucho’s Village restaurant, Porto’s Bakery, the Mann movie theaters, Borders, and the Glendale Galleria, a large indoor mall.  The Americana is just south of the Galleria across the street from what used to be a Tower Records.  We turned right into the parking garage that’s free on Monday through Thursday and is similar to the garage at the Grove with its circular ramps for ascending and descending.  We parked on the third level and walked to the escalators.  Just like the Grove there are comfortable chairs at each landing and a large lounge with a player piano at the street level.  We arrived around two hours before the movie start time at 1:55 pm so we explored the Americana.  Like the Grove it has tracks for a trolley (that we did not see) and a large fountain that has choreographed “shows”.  The lamp posts along the sidewalk have large bases from which music plays.  There were very few people around given it was Monday.  The only places with many people were the restaurants such as the Cheesecake Factory.

We walked around and visited stores that weren’t at malls or shopping destinations closer to us such as Victoria Gardens.  Kitson L.A. sells trendy women’s and men’s clothing that’s fairly high end: men’s jeans cost $190-$230 per pair.  They also sell books, toys, and gifts such as “Schticks” that are little signs that commuters can use to communicate with other drivers.  The signs said things such as “Settle Down” and “My Fault”.  We bought a set of Cinema Sweets-flavored chap sticks.  My wife had read about the next store we visited, Vera Bradley, in Rachael Ray Magazine.  The company is based in Indiana and makes dyed quilted pattern handbags, purses, quilts, rugs, ties, and many other items.  They even make furniture though they don’t yet sell it at the Americana store.  It’s one of the only Socal stores and it has been there since the Americana opened in May 2008.  We bought a wallet colored similarly to the Seattle Seahawks logo and some decorative binder clips.  Paperchase sells trendy stationery with various cartoon characters, pencils, frames, and toys.  At Sony Style we played around with the VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC, a tiny but very expensive laptop ($1,500) and the Sony Reader.  J. Crew had slightly less expensive jeans ($96-$150) but you can only get the relaxed-fit jeans by ordering from the catalog.

We walked to the southeast corner of the Americana where the Pacific Theaters Glendale 18 is located.  The theater lobby is much more elegant than most with decorative carpeting, high ceilings, and a large mural of classic movie-style images.  They traded our passes for two $8.75 tickets.  Once inside we used gift certificates for a medium drink (normally $4.25) and medium popcorn ($6.00).  The film was showing in a small to medium-sized theater down the hall and to the left of the concession stand.  There were six trailers: Fame, Paper Heart, My Sister’s Keeper, I Love You Beth Cooper, Shorts, and Land of the Lost.

The feature presentation is pretty good.  It’s a modern-day fairly tale about second chances.  The plot is similar to many earlier films, though this one tends to be more comedic and offers a present-day take on the story.  The film never takes itself very seriously and I believe this makes it better.

Most of the film takes place in the fictional Hayden High School in the L.A. area and the characters’ homes.  I thought the film portrayed a modern-day high school very well.  There’s a great scene where the main character tries to walk through a crowded hall of students for the first time in 20 years.  The students are constantly using their cell phones for calling, texting, taking photos, and shooting video for YouTube.  Actually, the portrayal of an L.A. area high school isn’t completely accurate because they don’t show any outdoor “halls”.  That’s probably because most moviegoers outside of L.A. can relate better to indoor halls.  I like how the film contrasted the cheerleader routines from 20 years ago and today.

Though the film portrays some reality, there’s also a lot of unreality.  Some characters seem a bit too well off given their assumed education level.  How could someone afford a house in the L.A. area without a college degree?  Also some things just seem to work out too well such as the main character having a rich best friend.  Some of the minor characters seem one-dimensional such as the bully boyfriend.  I also had some difficulty getting a sense of the story’s time span.  It’s best to keep in mind that this is a fairly tale, a fantasy set in a present day, real setting.

All the main and supported actors are very good and have some very funny lines.  Thomas Lennon of Reno 911 fame, who plays the main character’s best friend, provides a lot of comedy.  He plays this overgrown sci-fi geek who has the same Darth Vader pillow that we got at the Star Wars Episode III costume exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) nearly four years ago.  The actor who really carries the film is Zac Efron who plays the main character at 17.  I felt convince that he really was a 37-year-old trapped in a 17-year-old body.  His personality matched that of his older self played by Matthew Perry.  Efron’s character has some great exchanges with Thomas Lennon’s character.  The rest of the cast including Leslie Mann as the main character’s wife, Michelle Trachtenberg as his daughter, and Margaret Cho, in a cameo role as a teacher, are all very enjoyable.

The story is interesting and not as obvious and the premise makes it seem.  It is well-paced and I never felt things were dragging.  The soundtrack is very good including hits from the 80’s such as “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins and songs from today such as “Naïve” by The Kooks.  It’s a family friendly movie with a heartwarming story and lots of humor.  As stated, it never takes itself too seriously.  Though its unreality is hard to relate to we can all identify with wanting a second chance.  Catch it while it’s still in theaters.