It wasn’t his first film, but it was the first movie I recalled seeing Keanu Reeves, albeit on Cable. He played Mick Riley, the 17-year-old version of Michael Riley (the late Robert Urich). Michael just turned 40 and wasn’t happy with the way his life turned out and the happiest time he could remember was when he was 17 and he was in love with then girlfriend Laura. An “angel” he meets on a bus makes his wish come true. He gets down from the bus transformed back to when he was 17. He goes back to his hometown and finds Laura (Lindsay Wagner) a widow with two kids and realizes the reason why they broke up years ago. In the end, Mick is willing to face who he is and has a new start with Laura when he turns back to a middle age man.

Fast forward to 2008 and a new film, ” 17 Again” is in the works with Matthew Perry as Mike(!) O’Donnel and Zac Efron as the 17-year-old Mike O’Donnel. Similarly, the adult Mike isn’t happy with the way his life has become (he is separated from his wife, his career at a pharmaceutical company is at a stand still, and his relationships with his teenage children are nonexistent). Driving home, he sees the mysterious janitor standing on the ledge about to jump into the river. Mike rushes out of his car to rescue him, but the janitor has vanished. He falls into the river, instead and surfaces as his 17 year old self. He goes back to high school and through his experiences, realizes that he had chosen the perfect life but just never appreciated it. Thus, needs to figure out a way to transform back into his older self and won back his wife and kids.

So is 17 Again a remake? Or simply a rehashed script? Hmm…
Well, Robert Urich and Keanu Reeves certainly looked more alike than Matthew Perry and Zac Efron ever would.