Does it bother you when a film only pretends to have balls? I guess I have to explain this. Dave (Jason Bateman), a family man/power lawyer, is best friends with Mitch (Ryan Reynolds), a guy’s guy (i.e. the kind of guy who leaves you asking “how does he afford rent?”) Dave envies Mitch’s sexual freedom. Mitch envies Dave’s paychecks and ability to bang wife Jamie (Leslie Mann). You know how this works — they get drunk, pee into a magic public fountain and wish for each-other’s life. *Presto* Dave is Mitch, Mitch is Dave. They don’t switch bodies, just brains, but luckily the puerile screenplay will make it easy to follow even when the actors do not. (Ryan Reynolds is pretty good at being Jason Bateman. Jason Bateman is always … Jason Bateman).
Somewhere at the start of Act II is when I realized this film has no cajones. Nada. It’s one thing to have no integrity. You can tell that from preview or, if not, the several from-the-front (!) fountain peeing shots. Yes. Several frontal peeing shots. Worth the price of admission by itself! But for all the boobs and dirty talk, there would be no sex in The Change-Up. How did I know this? Simple logic, really. If Dave lives out his sex fantasies, he’s cheating on Jamie and if Mitch lives out his sex fantasies, he cuckholds Dave. And either of those things would mean that we have to deal with real issues and not just two flaky guys pretending to have a mid-life crisis. It’s sad when you think about it. Tear inducing. Here you have a film perfectly willing to show Leslie Mann naked on the can having a gastro-intestinal crisis and at the same time the film doesn’t dare show her having sex with either Dave or Mitch. Just how old are you guys?
(FWIW, imdb says Director David Dobkin is 42 but no word on writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore.)
After seeing Ryan Reynolds in Buried, I was absolutely convinced this man has serious acting chops. He commands a screen; he can raise a smile without dialogue and he can draw attention without stealing focus, which ain’t easy to do. After a summer with The Green Lantern and The Change-Up, however, well, geez. You know, I still like his acting; maybe he just needs a new agent.
Rated R, 112 Minutes
D: David Dobkin, whose last three films are (The Change-Up, Fred Claus and Mr. Woodcock)
W: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Genre: Wimpy fantasy
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: People who enjoy when others engage in public urination
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: People with lives
