The Change-Up (*½)
Directed by: David Dobkin
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde,
Alan Arkin, Sydney Rouviere
Seen: October 21st 2011
*½
Out of ****
I
do not walk out of movies. The Change-Up was the closest I’ve ever come to
doing so, and had I walked out I might have decided to, just for this movie,
lower my minimum rating for a movie to ½ a star, and not the customary single
star. For its first half, this is the most crass, awful movie I’ve seen in many
years. It’s understandable that some people say some twisted things from time
to time as once-off events, but not as every single thing crossing their
thought-speech barrier. Both Ryan Reynolds as Mitch (switched to Dave) and
Jason Bateman as Dave (switched to Mitch) utter strings of obscenities that
will make you feel uncomfortable even when watching this movie alone, not to
mention with friends or, worst of all, a date. The second half of the movie
picks up with some more acceptable fare, less profanity and some actual
heartfelt moments,
Dave
is a committed father who works too hard to really fulfil his wife’s emotional
needs, and Mitch is a drop-out who does freelance acting work and tries to get
a different girl for every night of the week on his schedule. The two are lifelong
friends, and one night when they go drinking, they urinate in a fountain and
wish for each others’ lives; the wish is granted, and they wake up in each
others’ bodies the following morning. The monumentally selfish and crass Mitch
must now become a family man, while the more controlled and conservative Dave
must take over some of Mitch’s very dodgy responsibilities (this can be
debated, as I believe the social responsibility would be to stay away from what
this man does).
Mitch-as-Dave
must keep Dave’s wife Jamie (Mann) happy and not screw up too badly at his job;
while Dave-as Mitch must keep Mitch’s sickening acting career afloat while
being confronted with a listing of unsavoury women and his dad Mitch Sr.
(Arkin) seeking redemption with his son. Dave has always had a bit of a crush
on his secretary Sabrina (Wilde), but since he’s married, he never acted on it,
something now conveniently possible as he is not himself anymore.
Two
moments in this movie are great, both occurring when other characters approach
the switched lead characters about their best friend, giving these guys a view
into others’ opinions of them. These two moments are actually well acted and
written and, for a short while, make you forget about the rest of this movie
celebrating debauchery. There are funny moments in the movie, as this is
Reynolds and Bateman, two of this generation’s most talented comedic actors,
but these moments are regularly muted by or strangled with dialogue so terribly
offensive that the viewer cannot laugh for long.
I
urge you to stay away from The Change-Up, please do not let anything good I
have to say about it here convince you to see it, it isn’t worth it at any cost.
I regret seeing this movie.
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