The sordid failure of "The Change-Up" is so ingrained in its design that only a total overhaul would have saved it. First, doing another body-switching film is a pretty dangerous venture. How many twists and turns can you really do in a film genre like this? Second, the humor is dirty, cheap, crude and really, really dirty. Sure, it makes you laugh at times but those cheap thrills and a story that's so used-up (and without any semblance of effort on their part to actually change the formula) will turn that smile into an instant frown once you realize you have been robbed. "The Change-Up" just doesn't make any sense and it is a film that should never have seen the light of day.
Growing up, Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) and Dave (Jason Bateman) were the best of pals. That friendship eventually drifts apart when Dave matures into a full-fledged career man and Mitch doesn't. Dave now is a successful lawyer with a beautiful wife and 3 wonderful kids while Dave is still a bachelor, with no job and still irresponsible as ever. One night, the two friends get-together and have a stupid idea - that both hate their lives and if given a choice, they would love to have their lives switched. The next day, after being drunk and wishing in a fountain for a body-switch, the impossible happens - Dave is Mitch and Mitch is Dave. Both soon they realize that the lives they longed for are not easy.
"The Change-Up" has problems left and right (and areas that are key to a movie) that it feels like that they just pushed this film because they felt that this will sell. No surprises that the story is plain-average. If you have ever watched a body switching film then you would know how it ends and all the moral lessons attached to it. And worse, there are times that the points that the film tries to tackle actually sound senseless. The next thing that we always look for in a film like this are the lead actors. Are they believable in their "switching"? Was it natural? For this one, it is another failure. Jason Bateman feels like Jason Bateman and vice versa. For example, saying "f*ck" in every sentence doesn't make you the character you are portraying. Finally, do not expect that the humor will sell every single time. Most of it are dirty and crass which equates to meaningless laughs. "The Change-Up" is more like a soft porn film (we're surprised that MTRCB didn't cut the countless nudity scenes - that's a first for them!) mixed with A-list actors, a bad, formulaic story and cheap comedy. There's really no reason to watch it, buy it or rent it in the future. It's simply unjustified.
Rating: 1 and a half reels
Why you should watch it:
- cheap laughs may float your boat - not us!
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- nothing new was made to the body-switch formula
- bad acting for the lead actors
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Comments
These lines are so funny in this movie: Well you would be early too if all you did all day was eat hummus and ________.” You’ll have to watch the movie to find out what he said. So Ryan Reynolds is back to his character that made his career what it is today; the bottom hole. I saw this movie in the theater but my wife didn’t get to come. I can’t wait to rent it from Blockbuster with my Movie Pass because then she can see it and she’ll stop reminding me that I saw it without her. It comes out Oct. 11th and I can put it in my queue before it’s even available to rent and Not only that but the Blockbuster Movie Pass from DISH Network that is free for new customers gives me one bill from DISH, over 100,000 movies plus games, streaming and I also get 20 movie channels on my DISH employee account as a current customer for only $10 a month. Next on my queue is X-Men: First Class and I don’t have to pay extra for mail to my home, or Blue-ray.
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