The Change-Up

I have been anticipating this film since first reading about the story last year. Jason Bateman is one of my favorite actors, definitely favorite comedian, and Ryan Reynolds can do some pretty good comedy himself at times. You would think that their hijinks while trapped inside each others' bodies would be hilarious, right? Wrong.

The first problem is with the character development. Bateman is a successful family man with a beautiful wife and three kids, and he is just one big corporate deal away from making partner at his law firm. Reynolds is his childhood friend who can't stop offending people with his language, and who is unemployed, philandering, and generally unlikable. In no real scenario would these two spend any time together. This is just the first flaw with the film.

As we progress, the characters pull a "freaky friday" by simultaneously urinating in a magical fountain. They switch bodies, and at this point the direction of the film turns to very raunchy, almost gratuitous comedy, but it is simply off the mark.

Jason Bateman playing Ryan Reynolds is not funny. He is trying too hard, and the character's sporadic funny lines are overshadowed by a feeling of disgust and a lack of empathy for the character. In his defense, Bateman does somewhat capture the character in his performance.

Ryan Reynolds playing Jason Bateman is underdone. Reynolds has no real deviation from his regular loud, obnoxious voice. It seems like he is almost the same character. The failure to capitalize on the polar opposite personalities and subsequently portray both sides causes the downfall of the film. And then there's the writing.

The writers wrote the Hangover, and the Hangover II, and clearly their star is burning out. The dialogue was certainly intended to be R-rated raunchy comedy, which is the hot ticket right now, but the timing was inappropriate, the tone was a bit too abrasive, and at times it made me wonder how the actors could say their lines without saying "wait a minute, could we change this a little?" The story lacked the depth of any critical thought and someone should have spoken up. The director (David Dobkin) also is a fading star, having shot Wedding Crashers in 2005, and nothing significantly successful or funny since.

There are too many attempts at story lines, and it creates incoherency. Olivia Wilde and Leslie Mann do their best to play the supporting women, but in the end they are nothing more than eye candy. Best said, the film is offensive and disconnected. A waste of real talent.

There are some shining parts however. Bateman's character has two twin babies, and their screen time is funny, as babies can be. The miraculous thing is that Bateman's interaction with them (as both characters) is funny as well. Banging heads, changing diapers, electrocutions, blenders, and kitchen knives add to the humor about as much as possible.

What I was hoping for is to be able to see the original character in the new body. To really feel that it was a person desperately trying to get out, or to manage the newly inherited responsibilities of his life. 1997's Face/Off is a perfect example. It was not a great film by any means, but I truly appreciated that both Nicolas Cage and John Travolta really did a 180 with their characters halfway through the film, so you could actually feel that the original person was going through their respective ordeals. This is the feeling I was going for as I was watching the Change-Up.

The conclusion of the film is exactly as expected, which isn't a problem at all. There is always a lesson to be learned: Be thankful for your life and don't take anything for granted. These two men learn their lessons through trials and challenges, and are better men for it. They just aren't very good men to begin with. I was disappointed more in Bateman than Reynolds, but for a few million dollars, I would take just about any acting job. Wait until this is on Netflix streaming, and even then don't feel bad if you miss it. 4/10.