The Last Movie Friends’ Matthew Perry Was In Before He Died

In «17 Again,» Matthew Perry plays Mike O’Donnell, a middle-aged man for whom things are not exactly going great. He’s passed over for a much-deserved promotion at work in favor of someone with little experience, his teenage kids (Michelle Trachtenberg and Sterling Knight) want nothing to do with him, and he’s struggling to grapple with his recent divorce from his wife Scarlet (Leslie Mann). So it’s not surprising that he finds himself fantasizing about his high school years, when he was on top of the world and his life was full of promise. He’s hardly the first former jock to look back fondly on the best years of his life, after all. 

But with the help of some magical hijinks, the impossible happens — he’s turned back into the 17-year-old version of himself, played by Zac Efron (fresh off the «High School Musical» train). Not only does this give him an opportunity to fix where he perceives his life to have gone wrong, but he gets the chance to reconnect with his kids and maybe even win back Scarlet.

When «17 Again» was released, it earned mixed reviews from critics, with many regarding it as likable but formulaic. That didn’t stop audiences — particularly younger viewers — from flocking to the theaters, however. «17 Again» went on to earn over three times its budget, raking in nearly $140 million at the worldwide box office.