Director: David Dobkin
Cast: Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann, Alan Arkin
Certificate: 15
Special Features: Deleted scenes, gag reel, theatrical and ‘unrated’ cuts
As the latest addition to the canon of ‘body-swap’ comedies, the obvious comparisons to draw to THE CHANGE-UP are FREAKY FRIDAY and VICE VERSA. But the film feels somehow closer to Penny Marshall’s BIG; it’s less about one character learning to appreciate the other than it is about discovering the positive aspects of your lot in life, which is just as well if one of the characters happens to be Mitch Planko, a truly despicable man-child with very few redeeming features. In some respects, the character (officially Ryan Reynolds but portrayed by Jason Bateman for most of the running time) personifies THE CHANGE-UP perfectly: sure, he’s funny, but he’s also crass, obsessed with sex and toilet humour, and thoroughly predictable.
By now you probably know the story: family man Dave and slacker Mitch are high-school friends who, after a night of drinking, wish they could have each other’s lives. Dave’s jealous of Mitch’s carefree and promiscuous, and Mitch jealous of Dave’s family and financial security. However, they soon change their minds when they awake to find they have swapped bodies and must endure each other’s existence before they can appreciate their own lives.
THE CHANGE-UP just about manages to maintain interest but is one of several lukewarm comedies to have surfaced in 2011. Along with HALL PASS and HORRIBLE BOSSES, the film fuses lowbrow slapstick and language – projectile poo stream in the mouth, anyone? – with tiresome morality lessons through by-the-numbers plotting. Not the worst film of last year but Bateman and Reynolds are capable are much more.
Extras: Note much to concern oneself with here – a rather boring deleted scene and gag reel that could be in serious violation of the Trades Description Act. The disc also includes both theatrical and ‘unrated’ versions of the film, with minimal differences between the two. The Blu-ray has bonus commentaries on both cuts of the film, but whether anyone would have the strength to endure the film that many times over is questionable.
THE CHANGE-UP is available on DVD and Blu-ray from 23rd January 2012.
