When Mike O’Donnell was young he had everything going for him; basketball star, dating the most beautiful girl in school, a chance at landing  a scholarship for college. As an adult (Played by Friends alum Matthew Perry) Mike finds himself in a dead end job, on the verge of divorce, and despite his best efforts he doesn’t connect with his kids. If only he could go back in time and do things differently maybe his life could have turned out better. Fortunately he gets the chance, but, unfortunately the clock has been turned back for him, just not the rest of the world. With his nerdy best friend by his side he tries to figure out the purpose of his transformation.

As someone who has been alive to see this scenario happen again and again in film I wasn’t totally able to allow myself to be entertained by this film (plus my growing dislike for anything that represents a reboot, remake, or retooling didn’t help either) which should be my first warning to anyone old enough to remember films, that aren’t necessarily the same plot but hang around the same premise, like 18 Again, 13 Going On 30, Vice Versa, Like Father Like Son, to name a few. Keeping films like this in mind might hold you back from totally enjoying this film, which was enjoyable, it just didn’t do enough to separate itself from those other films.

Zac Efron does a great job making you believe that he is a 37 year old man trapped in a 17 year olds body. While I only have Hairspray and the wildly popular High School Musical films to compare his abilities to he does a fantastic job here producing a good chemistry with just about everyone he’s paired up with and is able to deliver his dialogue with great comedic timing. It seems that even without a dozen dancing teens behind him or musical breaks the guy can deliver.

The rest of the cast in the film didn’t wow me that much. Leslie Mann (aka Mrs. Apatow) was as usual pretty funny but spent most of the film looking like a deer in headlights with wide eyes and mouth agape. Thomas Lennon (Reno 911) fits into his part well but doesn’t really shine in it as he attempts to woo Melora Hardin (Hanna Montana: The Movie) who for the most part is just eye candy but delivers on some pretty memorable lines. Lastly Michelle Trachtenburg plays a high school student, no surprise there, but is really just a plot device rather then a memorable character. Without a good supporting cast to add depth to the story I pretty much walked away praising Efron in his role but pretty much writing the rest of the film off. Could have been better but definitely worth putting down your hard earned cash to get a few laughs. Enjoy.