Jason KingThe Change-Up: A Review
September 8th 2011 20:37
:
Review by Mitch - THANKS MITCH
Category: Reviews
THE CHANGE-UP - Review by Mitch Lewis
Within the first 240 seconds of this movie, another contender for the 2011 Mitch Lewis Award for Best Gross Out Moment was nominated. Coincidentally, it was from that point on that I was stoked that this movie was not afraid to go there and I disconnected my brain and settled into my seat for what was to be an enjoyably easy 112 minutes.
The Change-Up is a gross-out comedy in the same vein as Freaky Friday, The Hot Chick and 17 Again that stars Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern), Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses), Leslie Mann (Knocked Up and, coincidentally, 17 Again) and my new crush, Olivia Wilde (Cowboys & Aliens). You should be aware of what you're getting yourself into when you see writing credits from Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the guys responsible for penning The Hangover and a directing credit next to David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers).
Dave Lockwood (Bateman) has essentially spent his whole life up to this point, studying and working to make partner at his prestigious law firm. His best friend since childhood Mitch Planko (Reynolds) has essentially spent his whole life up to this point, stoned and booty-calling his way through his spontaneous bachelor life as a struggling actor. When they both meet up for a long overdue night on the town, they piss in a magic fountain while confessing to one another that they wish they had each others lives instead of their own. Cue a citywide blackout and cut to the next morning where they make their out-of-body discoveries and seem to immediately figure out how it's happened. Now, Mitch, the stoner, is in Dave, the lawyer's body and vice versa all on the eve of both of their respective "big breaks" at their individual jobs. Mitch has to try his best to not mess up the closing of Dave's firms biggest deal and Dave has to endure a day on the set of Mitch's less than lawyer-like job. I'll give you a clue, like Ryan Reynolds' old TV sitcom Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place, this job involves Two Guys, An Old Slut and a Thumb (on reading that back, that still sounds like a fun TV sitcom).
Due to Dave being a lawyer in an unexplained mystical comedy where a magical force tampers with someone's personality, there are a few moments where I couldn't help but draw comparisons to a similar movie of years gone by, the classic Liar Liar. There is also a real sense of deja vu seeing Leslie Mann play what is essentially the same role she played in 17 Again only this time, much more raunchier. You could spend hours picking this movie apart and match each plot device with those of previous similar movies but then again, you could do that with just about every movie that comes out these days. Those ones were just especially prominent to me.
OK, so the premise has been done close to a thousand times before, this movie is faaaaar from original, yes BUT it's only ever been thought of as a kids movie plot, it's seldom, if ever, been done for a borderline R rated gross-out comedy and that's what's obviously driven the creative forces behind this flick to this finished product. However, despite knowing what you're in for, you still can't help but feel ever-so-slightly short changed in the beginning because they don't take a lot of time to set up Dave or Mitch's stories (not that there is much there, they're pretty one dimensional characters) nor do the writers take their time with the initial body-swap reactions or how the two come up with the reason behind their transformations and why nobody questions the supposed magic that the fountain possesses. The writing seemed very rushed and any and all logic is brushed to one side almost instantly, purely to kick start the story and let the comedy play out. I can imagine the conception of this story started by brainstorming the jokes first. During the creation of the funny moments, the characters were being formed into the finished characters that now reside within the 4 walls of the screen. Once the two main characters were moulded, a story was skewered straight through the middle of them to link all of the characters and events together and peppered with support characters to make a comedy kebab. It honestly feels like it was as simple as just that. The important parts were coming with scenes that would make the audience laugh.
This is by no means a feat of unfathomable cinematic brilliance that will shake the industry to it's very core, it's a slight variant of a body swap comedy with the only variant being the inclusion of poo, boobs and swears. Amidst all of the politically incorrect humour, there is wafer thin story involving Mitch's dad, played-for-paycheque by Alan Arkin, that is so unimportant, his character doesn't even have a name nor much screen time at all. This storyline is only there so Mitch has a redeeming moment at the end of the film like Dave. The Change-Up is a very simple, straight forward, predictable comedy coasting along on an incredibly flimsy storyline that, again, only exists for the sole purpose of supporting its jokes... but I liked it because it was funny. I like its humour. Its stupid and disgusting and I get that all the time. It has been negatively compared to Your Highness and Hall Pass but Bateman and Reynolds have a more natural chemistry on-screen than Owen Wilson and Jason Sudekis did in Hall Pass which ultimately contributes to a better and more comfortably watchable comedy, not to mention far outshining the comedy of Your Highness. There are a few fleeting moments, mainly within the verbal payouts, where you feel the edginess is a little forced and seems out of place but really, it's nothing that's going to distract from the film.
Basically, if you like movies where the humour is based on shock value, where the potty mouth is prevalent and you find it fun to laugh at parents dishing out horrible advice to their kids and seeing babies lick electrical sockets or just genuine uncomfortable adult situations that could only be brought on by a body-swap comedy, then go and see The Change-Up.
The Change-Up is rated MA15 and hit cinemas today. If you're just looking for a small space in time where you can kick off your shoes and let your hair down or sit back with your mates and laugh at a few hours of disgusting and immature comedy, then why not do it? I'm giving it 6.5/10.
Within the first 240 seconds of this movie, another contender for the 2011 Mitch Lewis Award for Best Gross Out Moment was nominated. Coincidentally, it was from that point on that I was stoked that this movie was not afraid to go there and I disconnected my brain and settled into my seat for what was to be an enjoyably easy 112 minutes.
The Change-Up is a gross-out comedy in the same vein as Freaky Friday, The Hot Chick and 17 Again that stars Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern), Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses), Leslie Mann (Knocked Up and, coincidentally, 17 Again) and my new crush, Olivia Wilde (Cowboys & Aliens). You should be aware of what you're getting yourself into when you see writing credits from Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the guys responsible for penning The Hangover and a directing credit next to David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers).
Dave Lockwood (Bateman) has essentially spent his whole life up to this point, studying and working to make partner at his prestigious law firm. His best friend since childhood Mitch Planko (Reynolds) has essentially spent his whole life up to this point, stoned and booty-calling his way through his spontaneous bachelor life as a struggling actor. When they both meet up for a long overdue night on the town, they piss in a magic fountain while confessing to one another that they wish they had each others lives instead of their own. Cue a citywide blackout and cut to the next morning where they make their out-of-body discoveries and seem to immediately figure out how it's happened. Now, Mitch, the stoner, is in Dave, the lawyer's body and vice versa all on the eve of both of their respective "big breaks" at their individual jobs. Mitch has to try his best to not mess up the closing of Dave's firms biggest deal and Dave has to endure a day on the set of Mitch's less than lawyer-like job. I'll give you a clue, like Ryan Reynolds' old TV sitcom Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place, this job involves Two Guys, An Old Slut and a Thumb (on reading that back, that still sounds like a fun TV sitcom).
Due to Dave being a lawyer in an unexplained mystical comedy where a magical force tampers with someone's personality, there are a few moments where I couldn't help but draw comparisons to a similar movie of years gone by, the classic Liar Liar. There is also a real sense of deja vu seeing Leslie Mann play what is essentially the same role she played in 17 Again only this time, much more raunchier. You could spend hours picking this movie apart and match each plot device with those of previous similar movies but then again, you could do that with just about every movie that comes out these days. Those ones were just especially prominent to me.
OK, so the premise has been done close to a thousand times before, this movie is faaaaar from original, yes BUT it's only ever been thought of as a kids movie plot, it's seldom, if ever, been done for a borderline R rated gross-out comedy and that's what's obviously driven the creative forces behind this flick to this finished product. However, despite knowing what you're in for, you still can't help but feel ever-so-slightly short changed in the beginning because they don't take a lot of time to set up Dave or Mitch's stories (not that there is much there, they're pretty one dimensional characters) nor do the writers take their time with the initial body-swap reactions or how the two come up with the reason behind their transformations and why nobody questions the supposed magic that the fountain possesses. The writing seemed very rushed and any and all logic is brushed to one side almost instantly, purely to kick start the story and let the comedy play out. I can imagine the conception of this story started by brainstorming the jokes first. During the creation of the funny moments, the characters were being formed into the finished characters that now reside within the 4 walls of the screen. Once the two main characters were moulded, a story was skewered straight through the middle of them to link all of the characters and events together and peppered with support characters to make a comedy kebab. It honestly feels like it was as simple as just that. The important parts were coming with scenes that would make the audience laugh.
This is by no means a feat of unfathomable cinematic brilliance that will shake the industry to it's very core, it's a slight variant of a body swap comedy with the only variant being the inclusion of poo, boobs and swears. Amidst all of the politically incorrect humour, there is wafer thin story involving Mitch's dad, played-for-paycheque by Alan Arkin, that is so unimportant, his character doesn't even have a name nor much screen time at all. This storyline is only there so Mitch has a redeeming moment at the end of the film like Dave. The Change-Up is a very simple, straight forward, predictable comedy coasting along on an incredibly flimsy storyline that, again, only exists for the sole purpose of supporting its jokes... but I liked it because it was funny. I like its humour. Its stupid and disgusting and I get that all the time. It has been negatively compared to Your Highness and Hall Pass but Bateman and Reynolds have a more natural chemistry on-screen than Owen Wilson and Jason Sudekis did in Hall Pass which ultimately contributes to a better and more comfortably watchable comedy, not to mention far outshining the comedy of Your Highness. There are a few fleeting moments, mainly within the verbal payouts, where you feel the edginess is a little forced and seems out of place but really, it's nothing that's going to distract from the film.
Basically, if you like movies where the humour is based on shock value, where the potty mouth is prevalent and you find it fun to laugh at parents dishing out horrible advice to their kids and seeing babies lick electrical sockets or just genuine uncomfortable adult situations that could only be brought on by a body-swap comedy, then go and see The Change-Up.
The Change-Up is rated MA15 and hit cinemas today. If you're just looking for a small space in time where you can kick off your shoes and let your hair down or sit back with your mates and laugh at a few hours of disgusting and immature comedy, then why not do it? I'm giving it 6.5/10.
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