17 Again / 18 Again

Have you watched 17 again? How about 18 again? You might be wondering what I am talking about. Well, 17 Again is a Hollywood movie starred by Zac Efron of High school musical while 18 Again is a korean drama with lead actor Lee Do-hyun.

Last night, while I was searching for a korean drama to watch on Viu app, I saw this 18 Again kdrama. I got curious about it because I often saw it being recommended on korean drama Facebook page. And the fact that the lead actor is Lee Dong Hyun who is by the way, one of the cast of the Korean drama series, Sweet Home, which is also a superb korean series! You can watch it on Netflix.

So I started watching it. In the first 10 minutes of the episode 1, I was like, "Wait, the storyline is very similar to the movie 17 Again of Zac Efron".

I continued watching it and then, at the back of my mind, I was like, "Okay, this was really similar to the movie 17 again!" So I searched it on Google, and then I found out that it is indeed a remake of that movie I am talking about. That make sense. I had no idea that it was a remake so I was so surprised while watching it for the first time(18 again).

Okay, now let me give you a summary of the movie 17 Again.

17 Again is a 2009 American fantasy comedy movie. The film follows a 37 year old Mike (Matthew Perry) who becomes his 17 year old self (Zac Efron) after a chance accident.

Mike is unhappy with the way his life has turned out and wishes he could be 17 again and changed it. And also his wife is divorcing him and wanted a full custody of their children. So when he became his 17 year old self, he is determined to change his path and be successful.

With the help of his super rich geeky bestfriend Ned Gold, Mike enrolls in high school sa Ned's son, Mark Gold, and plans to go to college on a basketball scholarship. As he befriends his bullied son and discovers that his daughter has a boyfriend, Stan, who does not respect her and frequently torments Alex, Mike comes to believe that his mission is to help them.

Through their kids, Mike spends time with Scarlet, who notes his remarkable resemblance to her husband, but rationalizes it as an odd coincidence. Deciding to also try and fix his relationship with Scarlet, Mike begins to finish (under the pretense of getting "volunteer credit") all of the garden projects he abandoned as an adult. He does his best to separate Stan and Maggie while also encouraging Alex to be more confident so he can make the basketball team and go out with a girl he has a crush on named Nicole.

On the day of the court hearing to finalize Scarlet and Mike's divorce, Mike makes one last attempt to win her back (as Mark) by reading a supposed letter from Mike. He states that although he couldn't set things right in the beginning of his life, it doesn't change the fact that he still loves her. After he exits, Scarlet notices that the "letter" is actually the directions to the courtroom and she begins to grow curious. As a result, she postpones the divorce by a month. Frustrated that he could not salvage his marriage, Mike decides to once again pursue a scholarship and move on with a new life. During a high school basketball game, Mike reveals himself to Scarlet. As Scarlet runs away, Mike decides to chase her down, just like he did in 1989, but not before handing the ball off to his son. Mike is then transformed back into his 37-year-old self, and happily reunites with Scarlet, saying that she was the best decision he ever made.

The film was released on April 17,2009, which became a box office with a gross net of $136.3 million. Wooah!, that's a lot.

Now, let's talk about the 18 Again korean drama series. As I found out, it is a remake of the 17 Again movie, starring Lee Do-hyun, who is the counterpart of Mike in the movie 17 Again. It aired on JTBC korean channel from September 21 to November 10, 2020.

I had only finished watching the episode 1 of 18 Again last night. It was like the 1/4 part of the movie 17 Again. But I am pretty sure there will be a slight difference, they might add or delete some part of it since the remake 18 Again have 16 episodes in total.

I am planning to watch the full episodes within 2 days. Aja!

By the way you can watch the movie 17 Again on the internet, try to search it on Google or even on Facebook. I first watched it on Fox movies(cable channel). Then you can watch the korean remake 18 Again on Viu.

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