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I thought I was going to hate this movie. I remember seeing the
occasional preview on TV, and said to myself, I really do not want to
see it.. First of all, it was "starring" the kid from the
High School Musical
movies (Zac Efron) who
has become a teen sensation, which many times translates to let's make a
movie fast and feature thig guy while he is hot -- the movie does not
have to be good, since his fans will go see it anyway and give it good
reviews, even if it stinks. Secondly, the movie sounded like the
same old story that has been re-done time and time again.
When I was given the movie to review, I was
not happy. However, after viewing the movie, I was surprised by my
reaction - I actually enjoyed it. No, I will never rank this up
there with my favorites, but it is far from some of those waste of
celluloid things they call a movie. The main plot of the movie did
follow the already worn out path of such movies as the pre-teen comedy
version of Freaky Friday, but was also mixed in with a large dose
of the the drama and the self-realization of one's past in the films
that have forever mimicked
It's A Wonderful Life. In some ways it is a PG version of
the classic starring James Stewart, but it does vary in that the main
character (Mike O'Donnell) does not go back in time, but metamorphoses
into a 17 year old in the present day. So instead of learning
about their life's highlights in retrospective, Mike tries to fix the
problems that he had created over the past two decades. It is an
interesting spin on some old concepts, and the director does bring this
across well over the big screen.
The acting was decent for this type of a
movie. Efron did show that he has some acting talent that goes beyond
some of those HSM movies. He has the looks, charm and charisma for the
screen, but the acting was just good, and not great. Also, he
looked a bit old for his role portraying a 17 year old -- but then
again, if you look at some of the High School seniors today, maybe he
looked the correct age. The role of the older Mike O'Donnel was
brief, but Matthew Perry did a good job. To me, the character that
I enjoyed watching the most was that of Mike's best friend Ned, played
by Thomas Lennon. I am not sure, but it may be because of that
inner-nerd in me; the one that grew up on
Star Wars and read the full
Lord of the Rings trilogy (including the Hobbit) a number of
times even before they announced the making of the blockbuster movies.
His character led to many of the more humorous scenes in the movie.
As I mentioned above, the movie was
entertaining. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters.
The movie moved along very nicely without many bad (i.e. boring) breaks.
There were also some uplifting moments - maybe none that made you cry,
but were still nice. Although, the ending is kind of obvious
within the first ten minutes of the movie.
Since I reviewed the Blu-Ray version of
this movie, the picture and sound quality were crisp and clear (although
the Blu-Ray version also comes with the DVD and digital copies).
It also includes a ton, and I mean a ton, of extras. On the Blu-Ray
and DVD versions are a documentary on Zac Efron, a feature where the
stars look back at their own High School days and a Trivia Track that
gives you info about the movie, while you watch it. The Blu-Ray version
also includes Zac's Commentary (about the movie), a special about
Lennon and Melora Hardin, and a special about the "weapons" used in the
movie (you have to watch the movie to understand what I mean).
This is the kind of movie I will watch
again, if the opportunity presented itself. Since I have so many other
movies in my collection, this one may be overlooked when searching for
that perfect movie, but if I knew it was on TV/Cable, I would make a
concerted effort to watch. Enjoy. |
