Movie Review: 'The Change-Up' full of nudity, foul language, few redeeming moments
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 5:14pm
"The Change-Up," an R-rated film now playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City and elsewhere, plays concurrently with "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" at the Galaxy.
"Apes" is probably the best summer fare this year. No way "Change-Up" is going to be on anyone's "best" list, unless it's that of the sophomore class at Carson High. But even young teens, at whom this movie is aimed, surely will know better. It's a lousy take on contemporary American men and society. Director Dave Dobkin makes the trains run on time but with such a lousy load of freight.
The ancient plot gimmick is Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds) and Dave Lockwood (Jason Bateman) are old buddies but have drifted apart. Dave is a high-powered attorney with wife and three children, Mitch is an unsuccessful layabout, complete with women on call.
Dave has to beg off a promise to his wife Jamie (Leslie Mann in an unflattering role) one night so he and Mitch can take in a baseball game. They do so and wind up at a bar, each telling the other that he envies the other's life.
They conclude the night by stopping in a park and urinating into a pool presided over by an unnamed goddess while bemoaning their fates.
Next morning the two wake up in each other's body, ancient but honored plot element. Mitch remakes Dave, passes on the secret of his love life in the person of Tatiana (don't groan, Shakespeare), who visits Mitch's apartment for a quickie, revealing in her nudity that she's nine months pregnant.
Mitch as Dave screws up a big business deal in his non-business attire and crude ways. But he meets Sabrinia (Olivia Wilde who has the most beautiful eyes flashed in any film of recent note --- and she's got a nice sense of comedy as well).
No big surprises ahead but as the two men try to reverse their roles via the goddess who has been relocated they roil things up. Mitch's father (Alan Arkin, of all actors) wants him to be on hand for his second marriage but Mitch isn't interested. He's after Sabrina.
It all winds up with Mitch and Dave encoring their urinating scene in the fountain to excess, now in a shopping mall. And returning to the right bodies.
While the cast does as well as can be expected in such a hackneyed plot, the foul language and excrement jokes as in changing diapers and vivid urinating scenes drag whatever was good here into sick jokes. There is unneeded cruelty inflicted on Jamie Lockwood as well as a needless breast display, and in a scene where Dave as Mitch (with me here?) is the star of a porno movie he is instructed to perform an novel obscene act by the film director on the willing porno actress, one of several nude scenes.
The stars work well together despite all the crude.
What can one say about such a tasteless display of a movie made out of greed and lousy taste? See it at the risk of your good cheer and upbeat look on life. Don't expect to be gently entertained.
--- Sam Bauman
Cast
• Ryan Reynolds as Mitch Planko
• Jason Bateman as Dave Lockwood
• Leslie Mann as Jamie Lockwood
• Olivia Wilde as Sabrina McArdle
• Alan Arkin as Mitch's Father
• Sydney Rouviere as Cara Lockwood
• Mircea Monroe as Tatiana
• Lauren Bain as Sarah
• Luke Bain as Peter
• TJ Hassan as Kato
•
• Directed by David Dobkin
• Produced by David Dobkin,
• Neal H. Moritz
• Written by Jon Lucas,
• Scott Moore
• Music by John Debney
• Cinematography Eric Alan Edwards
Editing by Don Zimmerman, running time 112 minutes, rated R.
- baseball
- Carson City
- attorney
- bar
- Baseball Game
- Beautiful
- breast
- Business
- carson
- Carson High
- children
- City
- class
- comedy
- diapers
- Display
- Film
- language
- life
- Lifestyle
- love
- men
- Morning
- Movie
- movie review
- Music
- Novel
- planet
- Plays
- run
- running
- Shakespeare
- shopping
- STAR
- stars
- summer
- Teens
- trains
- wind
- women
