Watching Studio60

If Matthew Perry was suddenly a teenager again, would he look like Zac Efron?

That’s what the makers of the movie 17 would have us believe. Efron’s been attached for a while to the role of an adult who — through a reversal of the kind of movie-magic familiar from films like Big and 13 Going on 30 — wakes up one morning to find himself 17 again.

So if Efron’s the guy post-youngification, who was he originally? A recent casting announcement reveals, he was Matthew Perry. Perry’s signed on to the presumably bookending role of Efron’s character in middle age.

And … okay. Happy to see Perry getting movie work. Efron’s presence is likely to make this one a hit, which is always good. Get known by a new demographic. But, do you think there’s any resemblance between the two of them that makes this at all plausible?

I’m thinking of how much that little kid in Big looked like he could conceivably grow up into that movie’s version of Tom Hanks. Easier finding a little-kid doppleganger than a grown-up one, I guess. But, Zac to Matthew? Really?

I’ve had plentiful exposure to the Efron Phenomenon through my daughter’s obsessive viewings of the High School Musical movies and decoration of her bedroom with Zac posters. He’s awfully pretty, for sure. I thought he acquitted himself decently in the Hairspray movie. But at this point, I haven’t seen any depth of personality in either his portrayals or his off-camera persona.

So even more than physical looks, I’m trying to think of what kind of … soul Efron would have to impersonate to look like someone who would grow up to be a Matthew Perry character, or how indescribably bland Perry will have to play it to look like he started out as Troy Bolton.

It makes me more interested in seeing the movie, anyway. Like I’m going to have a choice.