With Jason Bateman coming off the successful Horrible Bosses and Ryan Reynolds coming off the superhero flop, The Green Lantern, I was expecting The Change-Up to take me by surprise and actually be good. And yes, it did take me by surprise! But not good. Aside from an original plot (/sarcasm)… this movie was every bit of sh*t that enters Dave’s (Bateman) mouth in the opening scene.

With a movie that is only a hour and forty-five minutes long, it shouldn’t take 10-15 minutes to get a genuine laugh. Especially if you’re aiming for a raunchy comedy. What’s that mean? It wasn’t very funny early and it didn’t get any better later. I thought the director, David Dobkin, would have done a good job, since he also directed Wedding Crashers, but half way through I remembered he also made I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. I didn’t expect much from Jon Lucas or Scott Moore as they’re the writers of The Hangover: Part II. As I said in that review, it was beat for beat the same as it’s predecessor. No wonder this was exactly like Freaky Friday. If you haven’t seen that, then just think of any movie where they switch bodies. Remember The Hot Chick or Disney’s Wish Upon a Star?

It didn’t take long for me to not give a sh*t about about Dave or Mitch (Reynolds). Why? Because they both hate their lives yet they have put themselves in that predicament. On one hand, you have a guy with problems at home because he works too much. On the other, you have a guy that can’t finish anything and want to be a “lorno” actor. I know, I know.. you have to have some type of story, right? But these were both pathetic!

Dave is a ‘successful’ lawyer who is married to Jamie (Leslie Mann), who is smokin’ hot (at the age of 39), and has three kids. I was shocked to see Jamie topless (twice) and even more so when the babies started playing with knifes, which had me walk out of the theater… only to be told I can’t get a refund and was forced to go back and suffer for another hour. The oldest child, Cara (Sydney Rouviere), was pretty good though. She had me laughing.

On to Mitch. Let me catch my breath. Okay.. He was a complete asshole! No matter what Dave said to him, he would do the complete opposite. It’s like he was purposely trying to f*ck his life up. By the time he cared, I didn’t. There’s a moment where you think he would have an epiphany, but nope. Just continues doin’ the same sh*t so don’t be fooled for 10 minutes. His jokes are forced and every time he says ‘fuck’, it’s inappropriate (which it should be in this type of film) but for some reason it just didn’t work for me. His taste in women was horrible (don’t use the poster as a reference) yet he’s proud of it. But hey, he gets the other good ‘thing’ about this movie.

Olivia Wilde (Sabrina) who is an intern in Dave’s firm and as always, she looked f*ckin’ incredible. However, looks won’t get her every where and in my opinion, she still hasn’t become a convincing actress and probably needs to get away from mainstream movies for a while and do some independent films. She was the ultimate women though because she loved sports.

Wow, I didn’t expect to write so much but it tends to happen with all the sh*tty ones. Please be smart, unlike myself, and save your money. Don’t even bother when it comes to the dollar theater. Yes, I thought it was that bad. It’s the first movie I ever wanted to walk out of and couldn’t. Stupid 35-minute policy.

Infinite Rating: F

The Change-Up Trailer

The Cast:

Ryan Reynolds > Mitch Planko

Jason Bateman > Dave Lockwood

Leslie Mann > Jamie Lockwood

Olivia Wilde > Sabrina McArdle

The Rundown:

Two best friends (Dave Lockwood and Mitch Planko) meet up for a night of male bonding over beers, football and gossip (who ever said men don’t gossip like women are de-lussional). Lockwood is a married man of 3 beautiful girls and a lawyer by profession. Planko, is an over sized child who refuses to grow up. He’s an, a-hem, actor who lives the bachelor life fully. Hence, the 20 minute gossip fest the two share over beers at a bar while Planko indulges Lockwood about his sex-capades with various women. As if the stories itself aren’t good enough, Planko pulls out his cellphone and proceeds to show Lockwood multiple sexts (sexual text message pictures) of him in complicated sex positions that I’ve never even heard of. Perhaps these ladies never got to see the MTV commercials on the dangers of sexting – if you haven’t, check it out here.

At this point, the movie is “cute” and has its moments of funny until our boy Lockwood turns into the typical  i – hate – married – life complainer (insert the roll of my eyes). Here is where the movie lost me. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not biased based on the fact that I’m married – I’m annoyed by the fact that men seem to forget that they are not the only one’s who have to sacrifice in a marriage. Perhaps this may be a shock to some of you, but most little girls do not lie around and day-dream about growing up and cleaning after their husband, cooking dinner every night, running a house-hold, maintaining a career, birthing his children all with a smile. I’m pretty sure when both parties walk down the aisle – they both are making that pledge to one another – so why is it acceptable for men to complain about these little details of life and yet the women are expected to suck it up and deal with it?

Lets face it, no one is ready to deal with the truth that 9/10 women probably feel the exact same way as men do. But, a movie like that would never be made. If a woman is complaining about her marriage, complaining about motherhood and secretly plotting to have sex with her assistant; that all seems uglier than if it were coming from a man. The true ugliness lies in the acceptance that society bestows upon men and over shadows on women. If there is to be a discussion on marriage, even in the genre of comedy, show both sides. No doubt, it was funny when Jamie Lockwood (the wife) sauntered into the couple’s master bathroom in sexy lingerie, the husband instantly prepping himself for a night of dirty deeds, only to have her sit on the toilet with the door wide open as she began to have the worst  bowel movement I have ever heard. But, how about depict a time where the husband steps out-of-bounds? I have one > they’re snuggling in bed, she’s getting in the mood…when she looks over and see’s him picking his nose! Ew!

Can some one say fair game?

Over all, the movie was predictable. The only good that came out of this was, the movie was so horrible, it put me and my husband back on equal playing field for picking horrible movies. Next one, we’re flipping a coin.

Dave Lockwood and Mitch Planko have been lifelong friends since grade school (don’t let the actors’ age difference and characters’ maturity levels mislead you), but they couldn’t be any more different.  Dave is a successful, albeit overwhelmed, lawyer, husband and father of three (baby twin sons and a elementary-school-age daughter), whereas Mitch is a basically unemployed “actor” who spends his days, those that aren’t half-wasted away by sleeping in, high, drunk, or on countless sexual escapades; in essence, one man is an overly responsible and somewhat shy adult while the other is immature and suffering from prolonged adolescence.  Blame it on the drunken stupor or simply trying to be nice, the two friends proclaim they wish they had each other’s lives while pissing in a park fountain.  Magically, the two wake up as each other the following morning.  Until they are able to figure out a way to change back into their own bodies, Dave and Mitch must try to live out each other’s hectic lives and plans without ruining them.  Along the way, they gain some clarity about who they are and what they really want; furthermore, they get a glance into where their lives seem to be heading if they don’t change.

The plot is formulaic, complete with a clichéd epiphany moment and inspiring music, and the premise becomes maddening very quickly.  For instance, if (real) Dave is so stressed out about his law firm’s upcoming merger and worried that Mitch will spoiling his chances at making partner or causing too much marital strife, then you would think that a man of his responsible attitude would stop at nothing to convince his wife or coworkers of the truth, even if it was absurd and made them question his sanity.  Their attempt at doing so is half-baked and frustratingly played for laughs.  But you aren’t meant to think about it too much, as the characters must remain as such for the plot to continue – remember this is a movie and one that involves body-swapping, no less.

Apart from the mind-numbing premise, the main characters’ behaviors may also irk audiences.  Mitch starts out as a repulsive and irresponsible man who is a huge loose cannon in Dave’s highly structured life; the lengths to which he debauches Dave’s reputation is borderline unbearable at times.  On the other hand, Dave begins as a seemingly clean-cut man who has everything in order in his life, but via his wife’s dilemmas we learn that he has some growing up to do as well.  If the filmmakers wanted to make their main characters unlikeable, then they have accomplished that for the most part.  However, you actually come to care about some of their situations since they become so dire or involve other, more sympathetic people (i.e. children and a neglected wife), but the most of the characters are little more than caricatures or stereotypes.

When the more serious subject matters emerge, audiences are unprepared and a bit worn out by the irritating antics.  The tonal shift from raunchy comedy to hefty drama is jarring.  For example, Leslie Mann’s performance as the conflicted Jamie Lockwood is actually pretty good, but it seems out of place in this movie (i.e. two emotional breakdown scenes fragment the onslaught of “humor”).  Also, Oscar-winner Alan Arkin is underused as his character Mitch Sr. has a bare-bones yet serious subplot basically thrown-in to bring about character development for Mitch.  If the characters were real, you would probably pity Jamie and Mitch Sr. for having to put up with Dave and Mitch through this story.  While the marital and work issues as well as prolonged-adolescence/growing up problems are serious matters in life, they don’t fit very well in this comedy; the drama is unconvincing and therefore melodramatic and exasperating at times.  Then again, if you saw or want to see this movie then you probably didn’t expect it to be all that compelling.

Instead, you probably hoped it would be a hilarious comedy, but its steady stream of vulgar “humor” limits the amount of genuinely funny moments that aren’t offensive or difficult to watch.  Sure, I laughed or chuckled a good bit during the movie, many times shamefully given the amount of profanity and crude situations.  However, director Dobkin’s comedic approach isn’t subtle nor is Hangover scribes Jon Lucas and Scott Moore’s screenplay very clever in a comedic sense, as viewers are constantly bombarded with F-bombs, which quickly exhaust effectiveness, gross sexual and bathroom humor (i.e. Thai food and disgusting “lorno” scenes) and (largely CGI) nudity.  In short, the R-rating is more than justified as it may be one of the more deserving of the rating among its summer counterparts up to the point of this film’s release (i.e. Bridesmaids, The Hangover Part II, Bad Teacher, and Horrible Bosses).  It isn’t as disappointing as Bad Teacher, but might be more on par with The Hangover Part II’s crudeness and amount of humor but with a slightly more likeable cast.

Jason Bateman is as good as ever, balancing Dave’s controlled temperament with Mitch’s outrageous behavior; seeing him break out of his shell is amusing if not annoying sometimes given Mitch’s ridiculously immature actions.  Ryan Reynolds seems to be enjoying himself as he returns to the R-rated comedy area, something he hasn’t done so well perhaps since Waiting… (2005).  While his character Mitch is disreputable for most of the film, you grow to care about him a little bit; besides, Reynolds is a decent, respectable actor who has solid comedic timing, and his performance here is no different – the exception being his in-film portrayal of Dave/Bateman, which is also amusing to watch.  Olivia Wilde gets to play a bit of a wildcat as Dave’s law associate Sabrina McArdle; she is sexy as usual but has little to do once again, though she does it fine.  Bateman and Reynolds salvage their fairly unlikeable and underwritten characters, and in turn the film overall.

Although The Change-Up fails to live up to its outrageously funny red-band preview(s), it is better than a 20% rating on Rotten-Tomatoes.  Besides, the rating is such because so many critics have given it a less-than-positive rating, not that they have given it unanimously ugly reviews – the amount of “rotten” ratings outweighed the “fresh” ones, not that it should be considered a 2/10.  You’ll laugh often and even hysterically or shamefully at times if you see The Change-Up, but its stale, predictable and frustrating plot and underdeveloped drama hinders the viewer’s enjoyment and damages the film’s credibility.  If it weren’t for the involvement of Bateman, Reynolds, the solid, albeit less-than-A-list supporting cast members, seeing this movie would be a complete waste of time.  Instead, it is an adequate comedic diversion worth a matinee viewing at most (go in with tempered expectations as I did and you’ll enjoy it), or else catch this R-rated sitcom on television in a year or so.

The Change-Up – 6.5/10

——-

What we get from David Dobkin, Jon Lucas, and Scott Moore is an indecisive comedy, which takes too long to reach its obvious conclusion.

We meet Dave Lockwood (Jason Bateman), in the wee hours of the morning.  Crying children startle him awake, and he’s forced from his comfortable bed to change them, literally taking crap in the process.  Projectile crap.  Gross.  In this scene, we see the film’s first type of humor: raunchy.  It’s just one of a myriad.

Dave heads to work, where he’s a promising attorney, on the verge of becoming a partner at his firm.  He gets a call from his unemployed actor pal Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds), reminding him of their hang out session.  Mitch smokes pot all day and has meaningless sex at night, so he hasn’t forgotten.   Dave on the other hand has, but somehow convinces his wife to let him go out.

Mitch and Dave head to the local watering hole, where Mitch regales Dave with his sexual conquests.  Here’s where the film shifts from raunchy humor to buddy comedy, as the two become inebriated.

They drunkenly stumble out of the bar, expressing jealousy of one another; Mitch envies the stability of Dave’s family, while Dave longs for Mitch’s free time.  The pair stops to take a whiz in a park fountain, where they wish aloud that they could have each other’s lives.

In the morning, they unwittingly get their desire, as Dave wakes up in Mitch’s body and vice versa.  Now the humor focuses on body swapping, as they try to deal with the complications of reversing roles.  Dave has an important merger that he has to entrust to Mitch, while Mitch has a big acting gig, Dave must handle.

When Dave’s wife (Leslie Mann) has to put up with Mitch’s antics though, she confides to Dave (in Mitch’s body), that her marriage has been on the rocks.  Hearing the news, gives Dave serious reality check, since he thought everything was just dandy.  And so, “The Change-Up” transitions into a fourth type of comedy: romantic, further diluting the jokes.

You’ve probably heard the expression, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”  Everything looks better from another person’s perspective, until you’re actually standing in their shoes.  Then you see that the person has just as many problems, but they are just different ones.  Ultimately you should be thankful for what you have.  This theme sits at the core of body swapping movies, and “The Change-Up” is no different.

One of the two major problems in “The Change-Up” is that it takes way too long for Dave and Mitch to realize they need to swap back.  In an effort to equally show both perspectives, the writers unnecessarily drag out the length of the film.  David Dobkin could have used montages to cut down the middle portions leading into the last act.

The second critical issue with the film is its variation in comedic styles.  Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds give completely believable performances once they swap bodies.  There’s even a couple of hilarious scenes, like the one where Reynolds (Bateman) teaches Bateman (Reynolds) tips and tricks on being a grown up.  But because the “Change-Up” lacks a uniform type of humor, dabbling in raunchy, buddy, body swapping, and romantic comedy, it fails to lock capture any single audience.

My Grade: C

The bulk of the laughs (read: all) come from Bateman acting out Reynolds’ over-the-top persona… while the rest of the film fluctuates between painfully generic and melodramatic.

Sophomoric and immature humor can be funny at times, but when anything relies solely on it, the act gets old really quickly.  The movie tastelessly hurls pot-shots at mentally challenged people, Down syndrome patients, Japanese people, and Catholics, just to name a few, trying to get a laugh at their expense.  This kind of shock jock technique treads a thin line between making a statement or commentary and exploiting stereotypes for personal gain; “The Change-Up” is so far on the wrong side of that line it really isn’t funny.

Not only that, the movie as a whole just doesn’t produce the laughs that it should.  The writers of “The Hangover,” who penned the stale reimagining of “Freaky Friday” that can barely be called a script, took the wrong lesson from their smash success.  We didn’t respond so overwhelmingly positively to “The Hangover” because of its raunchiness and vulgarity; that’s standard order in Hollywood R-rated comedies nowadays.  We responded because it was outrageously original and a fun ride because we never knew what to expect.

“The Change-Up” represents that lazy and misplaced mentality that  doubling the crudeness and gutting the inventiveness down to next to nothing will still produce a good comedy.  As evinced by all the jokes that fall terribly flat and the ability to see the wheels of the movie turning the whole time, it doesn’t produce anything except a rollickingly predictable and forgettable time at a movie that should have you rolling on the floor.  And alas, there are probably more body changing movies out there than decent laughs in this movie.

Even a tip-top cast of comedians including Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, and Leslie Mann can’t breathe some humor into this soulless monster.  Sure, there’s some incidental laughter when the body switch takes place and the whorish stoner Reynolds character enters the tightly wound Bateman body (and vice versa), but as this novelty is hardly novel, it wears off expectedly quickly.  From there, it’s just gross-out and coarse humor that never really delivers.  On the seldom joke that does work, it’s always an uncomfortable or guilty laugh, neither of which are fun means of delivery for the aphrodisiac of comedy.

So in the event that you had put all your metaphorical eggs in the basket for “The Hangover” as the future of comedy, maybe it’s best to take those eggs out.  Because as “The Change-Up” reminds us, the genre’s future relies not on replicating past successes but on looking forward to see what new trails can be blazed.  Being one step ahead of the collective mentality is key nowadays, and this movie has it’s feet planted way back in its comedic predecssors’ footsteps.  D+ / 

Note: The trailer below of The Change-Up is not part of the Top 10 Body Swapping Movies

Click below to watch the trailer:

[worldnow id=6110805 width=385 height=288 type=video]

Click here to see what the Top 10 Body Swapping Movies are.

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Directed by David Dobkin, Divorce mediators John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey are business partners and lifelong friends who share one truly unique springtime hobby–crashing weddings! Whatever the ethnicity of the wedding party–Jewish, Italian, Irish, Chinese, Hindu–the charismatic and charming duo always have clever back stories for inquisitive guests and inevitably become the hit of every reception, where they strictly adhere to their proven rules of wedding crashing to meet and pick up women aroused by the very thought of marriage. At the tail end of another successful season of toasting brides and grooms, Jeremy learns that the daughter of Treasury Secretary William Cleary and his wife, Kathleen, is getting married in what is sure to be the Washington D.C. social event of the year. After infiltrating the lavish affair, John and Jeremy quickly set their sights on two bridesmaids, Claire and Gloria Cleary.

Directed by David Dobkin

Written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, and Olivia Wilde 

“Growing up together, Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) and Dave (Jason Bateman) were inseparable best friends, but as the years have passed they’ve slowly drifted apart. While Dave is an overworked lawyer, husband and father of three, Mitch has remained a single, quasi-employed man-child who has never met a responsibility he liked. Following a drunken night out together, Mitch and Dave’s worlds are turned upside down when they wake up in each other’s bodies and proceed to freak the &*#@ out. Despite the freedom from their normal routines and habits, the guys soon discover that each other’s lives are nowhere near as rosy as they once seemed.” –Universal Pictures

The Change-Up is the fifth film by director David Dobkin.  His first film to see a wide release was the Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson sequel Shanghai Knights (3/5).  While not as good as its predecessor, Dobkin takes advantage of the Chan/Wilson pairing.  His next film, Wedding Crashers (3.5/5), stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn and, again, takes advantage of the comedic talents of its starring pair.  Dobkin worked with Vaughn again on Fred Claus (1/5), which replaces the leading-duo formula with only a single titular character.  This film was notably worse than his previous films, perhaps as a result of one fewer lead character.

The film is written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore who had previously written The Hangover (4/5).  The Hangover was a surprise hit in 2009 and is probably the best film from the writers.  The film’s disappointing sequel (2.5/5) does not feature a screenplay by Lucas and Moore and seems to suffer as a result.

A movie that comes from the director of Wedding Crashers and the writers of The Hangover seems like it should be pretty good.  Lucas and Moore have shown that they can write a solid comedy with The Hangover.  Dobkin has shown that he can direct buddy comedies with Wedding Crashers and Shanghai Knights.  So, The Change-Up looks like it can be really good.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Directed by Rupert Wyatt

Written by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa

Starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, Andy Serkis, Brian Cox, and John Lithgow

“A single act of both compassion and arrogance leads to a war unlike any other — and to the Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The Oscar-winning visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of Avatar and Lord of the Rings is breaking new ground, creating a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence, and epic battles on which rest the upended destinies of man and primate.” –Rise of the Planet of the Apes Official Website

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the second attempt to reboot the Planet of the Apes film series.  This is the second film directed by Rupert Wyatt whose first film (2008’s The Escapist) did not see a wide release.  The film is written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, who have not written a screenplay since the 1990s.  So, the team up on this film seems odd to say the least.

The film features motion capture work from Andy Serkis.  He has previously played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films and King Kong in the 2005 film of the same name.  In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Serkis is playing Caesar, leader of the ape revolution.  From the trailer, it looks as though this film will not only feature another solid performance by Serkis, but it will also show off amazing visual effects.

Outlook: Very Good.  The visual effects look great and the cast is capable of a solid performance.

King Arthur

Guy Ritchie’s reimagined Sherlock Holmes, was a success. Maybe this is why Warner Bros. thought of another reboot; King Arthur.

Variety says WB wants David Dobkin, to helm the period adventure from his own script. Likely to be named Arthur will be a blend of action and comedy.

Unlike Jerry Bruckheimer version in 2004, that saw Clive Owen and Keira Knightley in the lead roles.

Now, who for the casting? Maybe if The Change-Up works, we’ll see Ryan Reynolds as Arthur and Jason Bateman as Lancelot.