Movie Review: The Change-Up
What happens when you take a few formulaic cinema tropes and add loads of blue humor? You get director David Dobkin’s latest film The Change-Up starring Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, and Olivia Wilde. Sure, you’ve seen the basic premise before in movies like Big, Freaky Friday, The Hot Chick, 13 Going on 30, and 17 Again (to name just a few), but The Change-Up is probably the most vulgar entry into the body-switching genre – it was written by The Hangover scribes Jon Lucas and Scott Moore after all.
Going into The Change-Up, I knew exactly what to expect and I wasn’t disappointed. Sure, the knock on this movie will be how familiar and/or generic it felt, but let’s be real here – are you really expecting the next great American film from a movie whose premise is two guys change bodies because they pee in a fountain and wish they had each other’s lives at the same time? I know I didn’t. I expected to be entertained and I expected to laugh. Thankfully, I was entertained and I did laugh…a lot.
Jason Bateman stars as Dave Lockwood, an over-worked lawyer just trying to make partner (and ignoring his family and friends in the process). His wife Jamie (Leslie Mann) just gave birth to twins and is feeling a bit neglected by Dave. Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds), on the other hand, is an over-sexed bachelor with daddy issues trying to make it as an actor. Mitch finally gets Dave to come out for a night on the town – drinking ensues, fountains get peed in, and bodies get switched.
Pre-body switch, Bateman was the straight man while Reynolds was the wacky goofball. Once the switch happens and roles reverse, Bateman and Reynolds’ acting chops really shine. After the change, I really didn’t care much about plot intricacies or the raunch factor because I honestly really enjoyed watching Bateman and Reynolds perform. Watching Bateman as Mitch trying to be Dave and vice versa with Reynolds is pure comic gold. They both did an excellent job in their respective fish out of water situations.
Aside from the gags that spawn from the situations that arise within the film (Bateman’s Mitch expecting to score with Dave’s wife only to be met with her having a bout of diarrhea and Reynold’s Dave trying to close a merger deal in order to make partner are two of my favorite scenes), the plot is also beefed up by the expected conflicts that arise in a movie of this ilk – Dave learns his wife is contemplating divorce because she confides in Mitch about it and Mitch learns about issues Dave has with him for the same reason. Everything about the basic plot and conflict of this movie follows a formula to a “T,” which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because I found myself caring more about the ride Dobkin and company were taking me on instead of overanalyzing everything. I just sat back and enjoyed the ride – and it was a wild one.
Jason Bateman (left) and Ryan Reynolds in The Change-Up. Photo by Richard Cartwright – © 2011 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
With the exception of maybe Shanghai Knights, David Dobkin has yet to make a bad movie. I’ve been a fan of his since Clay Pigeons and The Change-Up didn’t do anything to change my fandom. Sure, it may have a few pacing issues and predictable moments, but it’s the funniest movie to come out this year since Bridesmaids.
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