The Change-Up

Starring: Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, Mircea Monroe
Directed by: David Dobkin
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A married man (Jason Bateman) and a carefree, single slacker (Ryan Reynolds) switch bodies after both urinating in a fountain. Their lives understandably start to unravel.

Review:

Tim: I admit I didn't have high hopes for The Change-Up. The body switching thing has been done numerous times before (although I admit I was excited to see an R-rated version. However, the movie also stars Jason Bateman, an actor I just really don't like. Despite my initial misgivings, I was open to giving the film a chance. Unfortunately, it's more or less what you would expect- a gross out comedy with a lot of swearing, a few humorous moments, and a lot of dead time. The film is fine, but there isn't anything special here at all.

I suppose Jason Bateman is fine as the married man. This is the type of role he's played numerous times before. It gets a little more interesting when they switch bodies and he has to play Ryan Reynolds, although I didn't think he did an especially strong job at this. There wasn't a moment where I thought, "Wow, he really seems like Reynolds!" Reynolds, on the other hand, was cast initially in his typical charismatic slacker type of role. I thought Reynolds did a little better job portraying Bateman's character, but his performance isn't especially memorable, either. Both actors have decent chemistry together, and I liked how they played off each other.

Leslie Mann doesn't have a whole lot to do as Bateman's wife. Her big scene is definitely the funniest moment of the film- her open door bathroom break before bed. It didn't really require a whole lot from her, though (the sound effects create the moment). Mann didn't have the chance to add anything to the film. Olivia Wilde was likewise underused. I don't know what exactly this role called upon her to do except look pretty. The part wasn't challenging in the least, and I yawn just thinking about it. No one else in the cast makes any type of impact on the film, including Alan Arkin.

While the profanity (and boy, there's lots of F-bombs) does give the movie a unique feel, ultimately, it's the same old story rehashed- two different people switch bodies, learn something about themselves and learn to appreciate the life they have, and switch back. There's not a whole lot to the movie besides this, and all the sex, fart, and bad parenting jokes in the world won't distract from this. I also thought the film used some especially bad CGI, especially during the scenes with the kids. There's a gross poop joke in the beginning, but the most vulgar aspect of the scene is so completely fake that it ruined the joke for me. There's a few other scenes with the babies that again feature poor special effects, which take the audience away from the scene. It wasn't- "How funny is it that the baby has a huge knife?" but "How fake does that look!" It's a major flaw in the movie.

I didn't care for The Change-Up, although there are a few legitimately funny moments. The film as a whole, though, felt unnecessary and not funny enough. I wish comedies would strive to be something special, rather than just lowest common denominator movies. This film is forgettable.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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