17 Again (2009) Film Review

Mike O’Donnell (played by Zac Efron as a teenager and Matthew Perry as an adult) was a high school basketball superstar who was about to play for a scout with the chance of gaining a scholarship to college when his girlfriend revealed she was pregnant. He chose to marry her, but many years later, he is regretting this choice. Facing divorce, he bumps into a magical janitor at his old school that takes him back into his old body, but not back in time. He ends up, supported by his rich, geeky mate Ned (Thomas Lennon) trying to figure his life out.

What’s not to love in a body swap type film? Yes, it for teenagers, and don’t let it pretend to be anything else. Just one thing; I’d really like these films not to have sub-plots with things like Ned forcing the attractive yet hard-arsed principal into a relationship. Why have men bribing, forcing, blackmailing and generally strong handing women into relationships? It’s so misogynistic; why could he not have simply impressed her? And incidentally, wouldn’t it have been nice for him to discover that they had something in common, and actually got along rather than for him to be struck by her beauty? But, apart from that, it was a fun film.

Knocked Up (2007) Film Review

Alison (Katherine Heigl) takes her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) out partying to celebrate her new onscreen role on a television entertainment show. He meets Ben (Seth Rogan) who is out partying with his stoner friends. They spend the night together and then, a few weeks later, she discovers that she is pregnant. The film takes them through the discovery and up to the birth with them trying to form a relationship with each other and prepare for a baby.

It’s pretty average. There are certainly fun moments, but there seemed to be no reason for it to go on the way it did. I could not figure out why on earth they would pursue a relationship given how much they really didn’t get along. But luckily, it seemed that having the baby meant they will have a happy life. Whatever.