Jason Bateman has truly sustained his comic career. Some would say it is his mastery of his craft, others would credit his choice of projects. The”Change-Up” would be a valid argument for both schools.
The “Change-Up” has a great comedy ensemble cast. Ryan Reynolds, 40 year Old Virgin alum Leslie Mann and the incredibly funny and hot Olivia Wilde round out the cast. The script is a well traveled road, two people swap bodies to find out the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence.
We saw this premise in the 1976 Disney film “Freaky Friday” with Jodie Foster and the 2003 Remake with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis of the same name. The body sway concept has also been done in the Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron film “Like Father Like Son” and the equally bad Judge Reinhold, Fred Savage flick “Vice Versa” a year later. This time the body-swap concept is a bit different the writers really sexed it up.
Where the for-mentioned films danced around sexual innuendo, “The Change-Up” pulls no punches. This is almost two hours of crude, profanity laced, sexually charged humor…and it is done well. The sexually charged humor is enhanced by the beautiful Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde brings the extra heat. The hilarious screenplay is from the writers of “The Hangover” and the film is directed by David Dobkin who brought us “The Wedding Crashers” and “Fred Claus”.
Synopsis: Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman star in the outrageous comedy from the director of Wedding Crashers and the writers of The Hangover. One drunken night, two friends admit that they wish they had the other’s life. Mitch (Reynolds) thinks Dave has it all: a beautiful, loving family and a high-paying job at a prestigious law firm. But Dave (Bateman) thinks Mitch’s stress-free life without obligation or consequence is the real dream come true. The next morning they wake up, hungover, in each other’s bodies, and proceed to freak out! With time not on their side, Mitch and Dave comically struggle to avoid completely destroying each other’s lives before they can find a way to get their old ones back.
Release Date: The Change-Up is available from Universal Studios Home Entertainment Tuesday November 8th on Blu-ray and DVD
