(Movie Review) The Change Up

Ah. The switch up! It was great when I first saw it in Freaky Friday. Since then it has been an overused and under effective staple in the movie industry. So, as I heard the news that Bateman and Reynolds would be taking on this genre I was very hopeful....but in the end, it was just a slightly funnier cookie-cutter film that tries to stuff a "grass is greener" message into an "R" rated film.

Plot: Dave (Bateman) and Mitch (Reynolds) are lifelong friends. Dave is a married lawyer that seems to have it all together, but at the end of the day he takes all of the wonderful gifts in his life for granted. Mitch is a single slacker that has spent his whole life shrugging off responsibility. He sleeps with numerous random women and loves his uber- bachelor life. After a night of drinking and a pit stop at a fountain, the two wish for each other’s lives and end up getting exactly what they wish for. They must find a way to survive in each other’s bodies until they can correct the problem, and maybe learn to appreciate their own lives in the process.

Thoughts? It's an ok comedy. It's not horrible, but it sure as hell isn’t really setting the world on fire with its take on the body switch comedy. I can name a hand full of movies that do this much better. The one thing that The Change Up has going for it is that it is the first of its kind in the R-rated category. The problem is that it seems like they abuse rating and only use it for cheap laughs. Either way, the movie is just fine for a night in, but not worth putting the effort to track it down. 

FYI: I think that they pull a giant BS move with a very specific scene. Leslie Mann is shown topless in a scene. However, the CGI boobs on to Leslie in Post Production. What kind of movie is so hard up for breasts to be shown that they CGI them on to the cast? Also, what kind of actress takes a part but wont go the extra mile for the role. Not sure why, but when I found out about that it aggravated me.