Film Review: The Change-Up (2011)

Although it currently hovers around 20% on RottenTomatoes.com’s “Tomatometer,” The Change-Up (2011) is not nearly as bad as the rating indicates.  Rather it is a somewhat entertaining update to the overdone body-swap genre, even if it isn’t anything groundbreaking.  The movie features a rock-solid (or for you Arrested Development fans: Iraq-solid) cast and gives viewers more or less of what they expected to see: crude humor with profuse profanity and a startling bit of nudity (particularly CGI nudity).  However, viewers will find less genuine humor and give more sneers or painful chuckles as the film elicits more distasteful jokes than almost any other R-rated comedy this summer (and there have been plenty for sure).  Furthermore, the film’s premise wears thin fairly quickly; after a certain point, everything that follows is frustrating, to say the least.  In fact, some of the characters’ actions are downright agonizing to witness considering many of the compromising situations could have been prevented (how so will be explained later).  The movie is not as hilarious as the previews suggest or its co-writers’ previous comedic hit The Hangover (2011), nor is it as surprisingly sweet as director David Dobkin’s Wedding Crashers (2005) – It strives but fails to be both a blockbuster raunchy comedy and a touching drama.  Still, The Change-Up offers a mildly entertaining diversion, much of the credit to the lead cast members playing against type.

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

 

 

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