The Change-Up
Director: David Dobkin
Cast: Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann and Alan Arkin
DVD release: 5 January 2012
Rated: MA 15+
In the
classic To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck)
says: “You never really understand a person until you consider things
from his point of view–until you climb into his skin and walk around in
it.” That philosophy has driven a number of role-swapping comedies in
which people come to learn some truths about themselves and the people
around them when they magically swap identities. Films like Freaky
Friday (the Jodie Foster original and the more recent Lindsay
Lohan remake), Vice Versa, Like Father, Like Son, and even
John Landis’ classic Trading Places have all taken this
concept in different directions.
The Change-Up is
the latest entry into this genre, and while it adds healthy doses of
raunchy Judd Apatow-like humour into the mix it hardly adds anything
new or fresh to the formula.
Here it is uptight lawyer Dave Lockwood (Jason
Bateman) and slacker wannabe actor Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds) who
swap roles. The pair have been best friends since school, but
personality wise they are polar opposites. Dave is a workaholic lawyer
who is in the running for a coveted partnership at his law firm. His
success depends on his negotiations with a Japanese company in a
multi-billion dollar deal. He is happily married to Jamie (Leslie Mann)
and has three young children, including twin babies. Mitch on the other
hand is the consummate single playboy slacker with little ambition. He
spends his time sleeping late, smoking weed, and having sex with
different exotic women.
But after a night out on the town, both admit
that they are a little disenchanted at how their lives have turned out
and grudgingly envy the other’s life. While urinating in a fountain,
they both utter the fateful words: ”I wish I had your life!” Something
mystical happens. Lightning crackles, a blackout follows. And hey,
presto! The next morning they wake up in each other’s bodies, and over
the course of the next few days they learn some important life lessons.
Their egos are bruised and their failings are exposed. Mitch struggles
to deal with Dave’s high-powered work place, while Dave comes to enjoy
Mitch’s lazy, easy-going life style.
Director David Dobkin has worked on a lot of
comedy films, like Wedding Crashers, Shanghai Knights, etc,
but his handling of the material lacks subtlety. The level of raunchy
humour is not surprising, since the writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore
have been responsible for films like The Hangover and its
sequel. Ever since the success of Knocked Up and The
Hangover it has become the norm for mainstream comedies from
Hollywood to inject puerile, crass, scatological humour into their
films. We only have to wait a couple of minutes for the first pooh
joke, and there does seem to be a preoccupation with bodily functions
throughout the film. And the film revisits those male anxieties of the Hangover
films, without adding anything particularly new.
The humour here is more hit and miss than with the pair’s Hangover films, and while some moments work a treat, a lot of it falls a little flat. And by the end, the filmmakers have obviously played it safe, opting for more conservative values rather than taking risks with the material.
Bateman, who can also be seen in Horrible
Bosses (releasing on DVD this month), moves
effortless from roles in edgy, subversive independent black comedies
like the little seen Extract, to more mainstream comedies
with a raunchy edge like The Switch. Here he brings his usual
intensity to his role, but he also manages to shed his usual
personality to play against type when trapped in Mitch’s body.
Reynolds’ usually glib, superficial screen persona is perfectly suited
to his role here as the irresponsible Mitch, and this is a better fit
for him than the recent misfire of superhero adaptation Green
Lantern. But the chemistry between the two works and adds to the
film enormously.
Mann makes the most of her role as Bateman’s harried, frustrated wife, while Alan Arkin is wasted in a thankless role as Reynolds’ estranged father. Olivia Wilde is also good in a small role as Sabrina, Dave’s sexy legal associate.
While The Change-Up is a moderately funny adult take on Freaky Friday, it is also an almost instantly forgettable popcorn movie.
Greg King
Read more of Greg King's reviews at filmreviews.net.au