News > Matthew Perry to Play "Old Zac Efron" in 17

Written by David Morgan

Friends alum Matthew Perry has signed on for New Line's teen comedy 17, in which he'll play the grown up version of Zac Efron's character. In a plot twist that The Hollywood Reporter says "turns the concept of Big on its head," the movie follows a middle-aged father who wakes up to find that he's seventeen again. In order to be close to his children, he enrolls in their high school.

Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down) is in place to direct Jason Filardi's (Bringing Down the House) script, while Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot will produce. Leslie Mann will play Perry's wife.

It's amazing that the studios seem to think that as a society we need multiple movies about people in bodies that are too old or too young for their brains. We've already got Big, Freaky Friday, 13 Going on 30, so why does 17 exist? Furthermore, shouldn't the father's top priority be contacting medical experts and/or wizards to figure out how to turn himself back to normal, rather than wasting his time in high school again? Eh, whatever. I give up trying to rationalize this obvious debacle.