A weird combination...

17 Again

State of Play

both seen the same day, back to back.

Now this is a random pairing, I know. If you've been reading for any extended time you know that I lead a pretty random life. It was late in the afternoon, I'm sitting on my friends couch and we all turned to each other and said, let's see a movie. Within 15 minutes we were at the theater buying tickets to State of Play. It seemed like an interesting movie with some great stars.

I wasn't disappointed, the movie was intriguing and kept me guessing till the very end. While I wasn't blown away because in many ways it felt like a combination of a few films from the past. But it was still entertaining, a great little movie that did its job of entertaining and making me think.

An hour and a half later I found myself sitting in the Arclight in Sherman Oaks to see 17 Again. Now a few hours earlier I didn't push my friends to see 17 Again, I lobbied to see the political thriller. Looking at the posters and ads for this movie, well it didn't seem like my kind of movie. As the movie started I was nervous about the impending doom. Within the first 3 minutes the following things happened.

1. Zac Efron was shooting free throws with his shirt off.
2. Zac Efron did choreography in his basketball uniform before the "big game".
3. Zac Efron said "We're in this together"; a line that is frighteningly close to a lyric.
   

What had I gotten myself into. If it weren't for my friends that picked the movie long before I was invited, I would have let this movie pass me by. But sitting in a row of girls surrounded by teenage girls, I was wishing I wasn't there. At the end of the film I was thinking about how thankful I was that I'd seen the film because I really like 17 Again. In fact, I enjoyed it more that State of Play. Now it's comparing apples and oranges, sure but 17 again was one great apple.

17 Again didn't take itself too seriosly, played great to its genre. Even though this whole man in a boys body has been done many times, it didn't feel copycat. They didn't go for the easy jokes. It also never got too creepy with Efron's 17 year old character (really, a 37 year old), dancing with his friends mom. It had a cute story, it was simple and ended the way you expect it to. It wasn't the premise or the ending that was fresh and new, it was the supporting characters.

Zac was great and never seemed like a distraction, other than the first 3 minutes which I forgave. But the best part of this movie was the surrounding Characters. The mother/wife, the best friend, the principal, all played by talented actors. They played basic characters but had great comedic timing and felt grounded in reality. And this is a Zac Efron movie about transformation. The best example was Thomas Lennon (Reno 911, The State) who played the nerdy best friend. His nerd moments were great and he made me laugh in nearly every scene he was in.

Overall, I'd reccomend both films, State of Play is a fun political thriller that says some great things about corruption and journalism. WIth that said, the movie that earned the stronger endorsement is 17 Again. If you want to laugh the way you did at Big when you first saw it, spend the money and enjoy.