The Change-Up

So I had wanted to see this movie only because of Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds, well and because of all the talk about the R-rated humor in this movie. Other than that, it didn't seem very appealing given this plot has been re-done one million times. The movie did pull in $71 million, surpassing it's $52 million budget.

I don't even need to summarize the plot here but here it is anyway: Two male friends leading different lives switch bodies Freaky Friday style, or Vice Versa style, or The Hot Chick style, or I could go on and on.

This movie was written by two of the guys that also worked on Wedding Crashers and 27 Dresses. However they also worked on Mr. Woodcock and Chicken Little. The characters were pretty one-dimensional but I really didn't expect anything more given this was going to focus on the situational comedy, one-liners, and banter between the great Leslie Mann, Jason Bateman, and Ryan Reynolds. The only thing that really sets this movie apart from the countless rest, is the rated R nature of the plot. That being said, it was almost as if the movie was trying too hard to get that R rating and it didn't feel very natural. It was like there was a curse word quota thrown into each scene which felt weird and very scripted. Most of the bits fell flat for me. I mean, even the nudity was computer generated, again reinforcing the forced feeling of the R rating. Even though the plot was trying to be unique with it's adult themed humor, it fell victim to numerous cliches.

The sets were very pretty in the movie, I will give it that. Props to the set designer. Wardrobe was also nice. The pace was a little bit uneven and the movie jumped right into the plot within the first few scenes.

I still think that the three main actors did good. I wish they would've just let the cameras roll a little longer and got some more banter and ad-libbing in there instead of the scripted bits. Olivia Wilde seemed experienced in her role and believable.

In the end, I didn't find the movie very amusing. It just felt way too forced and scripted. A good comedy should feel natural and unprovoked, at least in my opinion. "You mean I can't sleep with my wife and I can't sleep with other women?! What's that? -- Marriage."