Writer: Jon Lucas
Scott Moore
Starring: Ryan Reynolds
Jason Bateman
Leslie Mann
Olivia Wilde
Alan Arkin
Mircea Monroe
Rating: ***
The Change-Up is like Freaky Friday with swearing, and although it is funny, it feels old hat and stops being interesting about halfway through.
The film starts how any good comedy should, it starts exactly how it means to go on. It is crude, full-on and doesn't hold back; but soon after the eating of faeces you start to see the cracks form.
Mitch (Reynolds) is your lazy, sex-obsessed, vulgar character, who only cares about his next lay. While there is clearly a heart in their somewhere, it is covered by his brash personality, and sexist views. When first on screen he is fairly funny and knows what he is there to do, but after the 'change' his character becomes whiny and hard to put up with. Yes, he is meant to be Dave (Bateman) trapped in Mitch's body. But every time he moans about not wanting to do something you just begin to get bored of him. Dave on the other hand starts off as likeable, and then becomes the funnier character of the two. Bateman is able to pull of both personalities and not become annoying. Maybe it's because he is so used to playing the boring workaholic type character that helps him play Dave with ease, and then when he got to portray Mitch he loosened up and really brought the funny. Both of the male leads were able to make me laugh when needed, but Bateman for me out shone Reynolds.
Jamie (Mann) is Dave's wife and as a character she is fairly harmless. The performance given by Mann allows you to warm to her instantly and means you feel for her, but also laugh when she is being funny (something Leslie Mann is very good at). She had me close to tears at one point, and then laughing quite hard in a scene which has to be seen to be believed. Sabrina (Wilde) is a fairly boring character, who is purely there as a 'sexy' obstacle. From the get go you know something will happen between her and Dave, and of course it's her who makes him see the light. It is a shame her character became such a cliche, because she could have been promising. Also, the relationship between her and Mitch, at the end, could have used maybe an extra 5 minutes, just to emphasise his character changing, something you didn't really get to see.
The supporting cast weren't funny and they weren't terrible, they were just meh. Mitch's dad (Arkin) almost made you feel something, but both his scenes (especially his first) were far to short and wouldn't let you get there emotionally. This was a mistake on the directors part, because it meant the wedding scene had no poignancy. Tatiana (Monroe) was the comedy 'shag', but unfortunately it wasn't funny. Everything about her character and scene should of been funny, but it was just a bit dull, and pointless; having absolutely no effect on the storyline. It was probably Monroe's poor attempt at being a sexual predator, who loved it every way going, that stopped the scene from actually being funny.
The director (Dobkin) did what he could, and I wouldn't say it was a complete flop. It has a good cast, and at times hilarious writing, but all in all it's just a story being remade and told for the millionth time. Comparing it to other recent comedies (Bridesmaids, Bad Teacher. Horrible Bosses), I would say it doesn't really come close, but it has it's moments and certainly had me laughing at times. I'm not gonna say don't go see it, but maybe wait for the DVD or even cheaper, Sky Movies.
Scott Moore
Starring: Ryan Reynolds
Jason Bateman
Leslie Mann
Olivia Wilde
Alan Arkin
Mircea Monroe
Rating: ***
The Change-Up is like Freaky Friday with swearing, and although it is funny, it feels old hat and stops being interesting about halfway through.
The film starts how any good comedy should, it starts exactly how it means to go on. It is crude, full-on and doesn't hold back; but soon after the eating of faeces you start to see the cracks form.
Mitch (Reynolds) is your lazy, sex-obsessed, vulgar character, who only cares about his next lay. While there is clearly a heart in their somewhere, it is covered by his brash personality, and sexist views. When first on screen he is fairly funny and knows what he is there to do, but after the 'change' his character becomes whiny and hard to put up with. Yes, he is meant to be Dave (Bateman) trapped in Mitch's body. But every time he moans about not wanting to do something you just begin to get bored of him. Dave on the other hand starts off as likeable, and then becomes the funnier character of the two. Bateman is able to pull of both personalities and not become annoying. Maybe it's because he is so used to playing the boring workaholic type character that helps him play Dave with ease, and then when he got to portray Mitch he loosened up and really brought the funny. Both of the male leads were able to make me laugh when needed, but Bateman for me out shone Reynolds.
Jamie (Mann) is Dave's wife and as a character she is fairly harmless. The performance given by Mann allows you to warm to her instantly and means you feel for her, but also laugh when she is being funny (something Leslie Mann is very good at). She had me close to tears at one point, and then laughing quite hard in a scene which has to be seen to be believed. Sabrina (Wilde) is a fairly boring character, who is purely there as a 'sexy' obstacle. From the get go you know something will happen between her and Dave, and of course it's her who makes him see the light. It is a shame her character became such a cliche, because she could have been promising. Also, the relationship between her and Mitch, at the end, could have used maybe an extra 5 minutes, just to emphasise his character changing, something you didn't really get to see.
The supporting cast weren't funny and they weren't terrible, they were just meh. Mitch's dad (Arkin) almost made you feel something, but both his scenes (especially his first) were far to short and wouldn't let you get there emotionally. This was a mistake on the directors part, because it meant the wedding scene had no poignancy. Tatiana (Monroe) was the comedy 'shag', but unfortunately it wasn't funny. Everything about her character and scene should of been funny, but it was just a bit dull, and pointless; having absolutely no effect on the storyline. It was probably Monroe's poor attempt at being a sexual predator, who loved it every way going, that stopped the scene from actually being funny.
The director (Dobkin) did what he could, and I wouldn't say it was a complete flop. It has a good cast, and at times hilarious writing, but all in all it's just a story being remade and told for the millionth time. Comparing it to other recent comedies (Bridesmaids, Bad Teacher. Horrible Bosses), I would say it doesn't really come close, but it has it's moments and certainly had me laughing at times. I'm not gonna say don't go see it, but maybe wait for the DVD or even cheaper, Sky Movies.
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