The Change-Up Review
By Karen Dahlstrom
Identity Crassness
At some point in the last few years, shock value and crudity have supplanted actual humor in R-rated comedies. With very few exceptions, the "adult" comedy is about as sophisticated as a 12-year old on a sugar rush who thinks his poop jokes are hilarious. The latest entry into the genre is "The Change-Up", a "Freaky Friday"-style body switching tale starring Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. And, true to form, it relies almost solely on raunch to supply the laughs.
Bateman plays Dave, a straight-laced family man with a lovely wife (Leslie Mann), a ridiculously precocious daughter and adorable twin babies. He's also a successful attorney, up for partnership at his law firm. Dave's got it all, right? Nope. Dave's sad, because he's got so many responsibilities and he's not free to nail the hot associate at his firm (Olivia Wilde). Poor Dave.
Mitch (Reynolds), is Dave's diametric opposite and, for some unknown reason, his best friend since grade school. A sometime "actor" and full-time layabout, Mitch has no responsibilities whatsoever, and takes none. With absolutely no inner monologue, he openly speculates that Dave's infant daughter can't speak because she might be retarded. Mitch gets to say anything and have all the sex, weed and sleep he wants, without a care in the world. So Mitch has it all, right? Nope, Mitch is sad, because he doesn't have the respect of his father (Alan Arkin). Poor Mitch.
On a boys' night out, Mitch and Dave drunkenly pee into a fountain while wishing they could have each other's lives. Wish + beer urine + magic fountain = wish granted, and Dave and Mitch wake up in different bodies. Cue the hilarity as Mitch-Dave fumbles with child-rearing, treats his wife like garbage and nearly takes down his friend's career in a single day. Dave-Mitch awkwardly deals with Mitch's "acting" jobs and his social calendar of uninhibited sex partners.
Nudity, poop jokes and gross-out humor fill out the rest of the film. Only in a few scenes — with Mann as Dave's neglected wife — does the film approach anything resembling reality or heart. At the very least, it might have been enjoyable to see Bateman and Reynolds do impressions of each other. Instead, Bateman plays Dave-Mitch as charmless and mean while Reynolds merely adds another shade to his Chevy Chase color box.
Since the "switch" comedy has already been extensively explored, we all know how this is supposed to turn out: Dave learns to loosen up and appreciate what he has, Mitch learns to step up and take more responsibility in his life. If only we cared whether or not these miserable jerks actually make it all work out. Now that would have been a nice change.
