All Comments for: 17 Again | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Free Newsletters:

RSS Feeds |

Audio |

Twitter

Home > Reviews > 2009

Christianity Today Movies, 2009, reviews |

17 Again

Review by Lisa Ann Cockrel | posted 4/17/2009 08:49AM

Zac Efron is the next Brad Pitt. That's the thought that bolted through my brain about twenty minutes into 17 Again. And trust me, I was just as surprised as you are. But there he was, up there on the ...

[Reader Reviews]

Average User Rating:

Rate and Comment on this article

Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 comments.

Page: 1

Show All

person

Posted: June 12, 2009 3:01 PM

After reading several reviews, i must say that i was hesitant to go see this movie. I saw it and there was quite a bit of sexual content, but when you think about it, seriously, this is the stuff the people my age are exposed to every day. Granted, there were parts that i wished that I had not seen, but there were many uplifting parts about it too. it really did show the value of good family relations. this movie was like real life. people go through the troubles and situations expressed in the movei all the time. overall i thought it was a good movie; however, i would not want small children to see it. 17 again presented the choices in life and also showed the concequences of bad choices.

Realistic Dad

Posted: May 22, 2009 9:38 AM

As a Christian dad who believes no adolescent is more at risk than the naive who have been shielded from reality and bullied into following rules by their parents...I was more than fine with the content in the movie. They need to know that sex makes babies and that the sex act itself is way overrated and that there are many other ways to feel loved and validated and cherished than through sex. It was pretty tame, actually, and the overall message was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. Kids are going to make their own decisions at some point and the sooner they are allowed to think for themselves, the better. I don't want my kids saying no (to whatever) because I told them so. I want them to say no because that's their decision. Heed the rating (PG 13, as in THIRTEEN).

Jasperinlove

Posted: May 19, 2009 2:48 PM

intheworldnotoftheworld you need to get a life!!!! if you think this film is not for anyone to watch then don't watch any movie don't watch TV dont use a computer in fact.... don't live a single little tinny bite of life! get over and life life... this film was great and for once they are promoting no sex out of marriage... Freak man!! People like you is the reason people don't want to be Christians... sorry for being so straight forward!!! GOSH!!!

Gil	Posted: May 17, 2009 7:23 AM

A great movie to start the conversations that we need to have with our kids. You cannot avoid what is going on in this world but you can prepare your kids and educate them so they can make good decisions when the time comes. When Jesus spoke, he spoke in a way that would make us think and ponder why we chose to follow his teaching, not just blindly follow it because we think it's a rule. When you base things out of love as Christ did you see that when He asked us to do something it wasn't for his benefit it was for ours and He based that out of His love for us. Take off the blinders, you can't change the way the world lives, but you can give your kids the tools to navigate throught it and maybe change the attitudes of some others along the way

intheworldnotoftheworld

Posted: May 12, 2009 12:52 PM


A little research would reveal this movie is not appropriate for anyone 9 years old, 11 years old, 15 years old, or 43 years old. It is heartbreaking to realize the state of those that call themselves christians.

voice for mothers

Posted: May 04, 2009 7:14 PM

i did not like the move as the rating was pg and I went with 2 other family's all of who had very young children i may sound old fashoned but to many of the morals were not what I believe should be shown to children who just think it all ok.No not a childrens movie I came away not impressed at all cute looks just does not cut it alone. My rating is lnot even a 1 even though that is what I gave it because the site would not allow a 0 rating.

Anonymous

Posted: April 29, 2009 10:07 PM


I'm shocked you didn't discuss the language more. I believe it was entirely inappropriate.

Melissa

Posted: April 26, 2009 7:32 PM

I am 23. I think Zac Efron is almost too pretty to be human. I also thought he was just a pretty face until I saw this film. The kid has actual acting chops to go with the looks and the singing and dancing. His comedic line delivery made me laugh out loud a couple of times, and then he made me want to cry during the emotional climax when his eyes filled with actual tears. I got the feeling, however, that the film was written for Efron. His seventeen-year-old self is a popular, yet nice, fantastic basketball player who occasionally dances with the cheerleaders. At least he didn't break into song in the cafeteria. No, it's not a film for Efron's younger fans, but the MPAA told you that when they rated it PG-13 as opposed to HSM's G rating. The plot was the very worn It's a Wonderful Life template, but it's been given a nice facelift. So I give it a rating for the cute supporting characters and using ALL of Efron's talents, but it lacks originality.

R.g.	Posted: April 23, 2009 11:18 AM

I agree, why on earth would you take your nine- or eleven-year-old to see a PG-13 movie and expect the content to be suitable? Anyway, even not counting the "ZAC EFRON *SQUEE*!!!" factor and the fast-paced teen movie humor, I was most impressed with the attitudes towards sex coming from a secular avenue. Who would have thought that a movie like this would actually show the the consequences of teen sex and advocate abstinence? I thought it was so wonderful, not just that Efron's character chose to accept responsibility and marry the mother of his child, but that his adult self tried to prevent classmates from making the same mistakes. I'd definitely recommend as a family movie for parents and teens. (Leave the little ones at home, obviously. Don't you people do your research first?)

Ash	Posted: April 22, 2009 10:28 PM


great movie hilarious and had lots of good lessons. Robin S some advice: if your daughter is 11, then why are you taking her to a PG-13 (note the 13) movie???? and the stuff about sex is real life because that happens everyday. if you are looking for some happy dandy nice movie, go back to high school musical, hon.

Elizabeth

Posted: April 22, 2009 8:44 AM


Too much sexual content. I took my 11 year old daughter and was cringing most of the time. Definetley would not recommend this movie.

Tony from Houston

Posted: April 20, 2009 1:12 PM


Fun movie. My son and I enjoyed it more than my daughter who thought it had too many "boy" jokes. Great lessons if your eyes are open. Only thing the movie didn't cover is what do we do in real life when we don't have a magical janitor that can make us 17 again. What can those of us who are 37 + years and have made similar mistakes really do?

Pamela

Posted: April 19, 2009 9:28 PM

Every trite theme in the book. Save the $ and just give your kids People magazine to study. Particularly special was Zac waking up in bed with his own daughter (she doesn't know he's her father) as she tries to seduce him. Ditto for Zac as a teenager kissing his "friend's" Mom who is actually his grown-up wife. All very weird. But he's cute . . so I guess it's OK. Any reviewer who writes that Efron has a "kind of gravitas" is too eager to use the word gravitas.

Robin S

Posted: April 18, 2009 9:46 PM

As a mom of a 9 year old daughter, I would suggest that you do NOT take your 'tween child to this movie unless you are prepared to do a LOT of explaing. The movie begins with Efron as a 17yr old highschool boy who got his high school girl pregnant. That is just the beginning ("Mom, why is she having a baby in high school? Why is she not married?") Then we move on to the sexual content (can't even begin to get into). I had to take my daughter to the bathroom when they got to the "Health Class" part of the movie because I was not at all sure how bad that was going to go... I remember a part in the movie where they asked something like... "Do you want me to tell you why?" and I kept thinking..."No, not really!" Mike's (Zac) daughter gets dumpted in the movie for "Not putting out~" All in all, it was a good movie but I just think a little pre-warning that Zac has dumped his 'tween audience would have been helpful. It is a cute story and he is a great actor-

Page: 1

E-mail this page

Write CT

Print this article

Post a comment