Zac Efron’s Breakout Movie Is Leaving Netflix, Last Chance To Watch
The Zac Efron/Matthew Perry movie 17 Again will leave Netflix on December 31.
December 31 is the last day the Zac Efron movie 17 Again will be available on Netflix. The movie is about a married father of two who is suddenly transformed into his younger self as he tries to figure out how to fix the conflicts that have arisen in his life. It co-stars Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Thomas Lennon.
In the vein of similar films such as 13 Going on 30 and Big, the movie teaches its protagonist a lesson about their life by reframing it from the perspective of a different age group. Matthew Perry plays Mike, who just can’t get his life together after giving up a chance for his future when he was 17. Zac Efron plays Mike as a teenager, who in the present day calls himself Mark because he thinks no one will believe what happened to him.
As Mark, Mike winds up in high school alongside his children, learning about their lives and tribulations. His son is being bullied by his daughter’s toxic and domineering boyfriend, who is also pressuring his daughter to have sex. As Zac Efron’s character witnesses these high school dramas playing out, he tries to help his kids overcome these obstacles and reconcile with his wife, Scarlett.
17 Again was released on April 17, 2009, and received middling reviews that compared it to other movies of the genre. Despite what many critics felt was an unoriginal premise, the acting, particularly from Zac Efron, was lauded enough to ensure the movie’s success. It ranked #1 at the box office on its opening weekend.
The movie was also more fuel for the momentum Zac Efron was building at the time. As a child actor, he played young Simon Tam in Firefly in addition to other appearances on television and in movies, and in 2006, High School Musical became a smash hit, and he found himself alongside Vanessa Hudgens in two sequels to the Disney Channel movie as well as higher-profile guest spots on shows like CSI and NCIS. 17 Again represents the heartthrob’s first steps away from his Disney reputation, although it would take a few more movies for him to emerge as a comedic talent.
Arguably, it was during 2016 and 2017 that Zac Efron proved that he could carry his talent into maturity, with Baywatch, Dirty Grandpa, and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates as examples of more adult comedies that he starred in. During that time he also starred in the musical The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman, recalling his roots as a singing actor in the Zendaya duet “Rewrite the Stars.” Recently, he starred in the war dramedy The Greatest Beer Run Ever and has signed on to play the troubled wrestler Kevin von Erich in Iron Claw.
To see Zac Efron in his younger era as a breakout star, viewers only have a couple of weeks. Netflix will not be hosting 17 Again after December 31, which means in the new year, audiences will have to look somewhere else for the movie. Catch it now, while you can!
