his first day as the new basketball coach at his kids' school, Ned, who has successfully started a relationship with Jane, gifts him a whistle, both happy with their new starts in life. Cast Matthew Perry / Zac Efron as Mike O'Donnell / Mark Gold: Perry portrays Mike at age 37, while Efron portrays Mike at age 17 in the opening flashback from 1989 and after Mike has undergone his magical transformation into posing as Mark Gold, son of his future friend Ned. Leslie Mann / Allison Miller as Scarlet O'Donnell: Mike's soon-to-be former wife and the mother of his children. Mann plays Scarlet as an adult and Miller plays Scarlet as a teen in the opening flashback from 1989. Thomas Lennon / Tyler Steelman as Ned Gold: Mike's best friend. Lennon plays the adult Ned, while Steelman portrays Ned in the opening flashback from 1989. Michelle Trachtenberg as Margaret Sarah "Maggie" O'Donnell: Mike and Scarlet's 18-year-old daughter. Her conception was the reason Mike chose to abandon his dreams and marry Scarlet. She dates Stan. Sterling Knight as Alex O'Donnell: Mike and Scarlet's 16-year-old son. He is harshly abused by Stan. Melora Hardin as Principal Jane Masterson: principal of the high school that Mike, Scarlet and Ned used to attend, and Maggie, Alex and "Mark" currently attends. She is also Ned's love interest. Hunter Parrish as Stan: Maggie's aggressive and toxic former boyfriend who bullies Alex even in his house. Nicole Sullivan as Naomi (pronounced "Nay-o-me"): Scarlet's best friend Kat Graham, Tiya Sircar and Melissa Ordway as Jamie, Samantha and Lauren: the three girls who are friends with Maggie, and constantly trying to flirt with "Mark". Brian Doyle-Murray as Janitor: the magical spirit guide who makes the transformation possible. Josie Loren as Nicole: the head cheerleader and Alex's crush. Jim Gaffigan as Coach Murphy: the high school basketball coach who has been there for 20 years. Margaret Cho as Mrs. Dell: a teacher Reception Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 56% based on 149 reviews, with an average rating of 5.40/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Though it uses a well-worn formula, 17 Again has just enough Zac Efron charm to result in a harmless, pleasurable teen comedy." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences