I don't know why everyone keeps referring to 17 -- the Zac Efron movie in which a 40-year-old guy is suddenly a teen again -- as Big in reverse. Or, as The Hollywood Reporter writes today: "turns the concept of Big on its head." I guess nobody remembers the George Burns-becomes-Charlie Schlatter comedy 18 Again! Either that or it's simply easier to reference Big because it's a million times more well-known. Anyway, there's another movie 17 will make people think of: Back to the Future. Apparently, Efron's character (aka Matthew Perry's character as a teen) becomes the object of a crush -- from his own daughter! Playing the poor girl, who obviously doesn't realize her own Electra complex, is Michelle Trachtenberg. Also joining the cast, which includes Leslie Mann as Efron/Perry's wife and Trachtenberg's mom, is Melora Hardin ("Jan" on TV's The Office) as a high school principal.

So here's what I find strange about the new plot revelation: how is it the daughter doesn't recognize her own father as a young man? Hasn't everyone seen photos of their parents from when they were younger? At least with Back to the Future, in Lea Thompson's defense she hadn't yet birthed Michael J. Fox, and she had no way of ever having seen his face before he traveled back in time and became the object of her desires. In both scenarios, it is pretty gross to think about seriously. According to the main plot synopsis for 17, the reason Efron/Perry enrolls in high school is to be closer to his kids (hey, another movie this reminds me of: Mrs. Doubtfire). I guess he truly gets his wish in a terribly sick sort of way. Production on 17 begins this month.

She's 35 and he's 20, but in this film he's 17 ... and she's his wife? Before you Zac Efron fans go a little nuts with this news, you should know that I'm talking about his new film 17, which is like a reversal of the Tom Hanks film Big in that Efron's character was an adult (who was in his thirties and married to Leslie Mann), but then because of (insert crucial plot point here), he becomes 17 again and must somehow navigate his way through the war zone that is high school. The Hollywood Reporter tells us Mann, who recently played wife to Paul Rudd in Knocked Up, will star opposite Efron in the New Line teen comedy.

Jason Filardi (Bringing Down the House) wrote the script and Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down) will direct, while Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot produce. I'm not sure how exactly they'll handle this one -- will the 17-year-old kid be able to convince his wife that he's, well, her husband? And if so, will they ... do stuff? And since Efron's adult self is married, does that mean we won't see a teen romance blossom and then fall apart once it's time for him to go back to being old? Will he go back to being old? Part of what made Big so touching and emotional was when he had to say goodbye to this older, adult romance in order to transform back into a kid again. Granted, teen romances aren't as -- how shall I say -- poignant, but I'll be curious to see how they go about it. Is he running away from a struggling marriage? Will being 17 again help revive the relationship, and bring a little more energy into the equation. And will Efron break out into song at some point? These are the questions we need answered people! I guess we'll have to wait until 17 arrives in theaters at some point next year.

When we last told you about this project, all we knew was that New Line won the auction on an untitled comedy pitch from Bringing Down the House scribe Jason Filardi, that Adam Shankman was producing, Zac Efron was starring, and no one was giving any plot information away except that it was being called the "Mysterious High School Pitch." Well now, folks are finally starting to talk about it, and Efron not only gave us a title but he also shared the high-concept premise as well. In speaking with VH1, Efron (who's apparently the hot new kid on the block, having starred in a little ensemble hit called High School Musical) said that his first solo vehicle will be the film Seventeen.

He continues: "It's kind of like a reverse Big, about a guy who is older and his life never came out how he planned. [The character] wishes he could go back to high school, and sure enough, he wakes up and he is young again, he is 17 again." Shankman added that New Line is hot to make the flick, and he hopes production on it will begin this fall. Ah, reaching back to spin a concept from the late '80s -- remember when Dudley Moore swapped places with Kirk Cameron in a movie called Like Father Like Son (at the time, it was a cool film -- looking back now, it has to be one of the oddest on-screen pairings in history). A year later there was Tom Hanks in Big, as well as Fred Savage and Judge Reinhold in Vice Versa. Years later, Jennifer Garner produced a hit with the female version of Big, 13 Going on 30. Granted, no one is swapping places in Seventeen, but I'm sure the film will tap into some of those same "adult in high school-like environment' regurgitated jokes. Can't wait for the one where he doesn't know how to work an iPod. Classic!